He's a She?
by Wicked'elphaba-fiyero
Summary: After running away from home, Elphaba has nowhere to go, she is forced to pose as a boy servant to Fiyero and his parents to keep from living on the streets...will she be discovered? Fiyeraba, brief/implied Flinda. COMPLETED
1. Nessa and Fredrick

Elphaba sat in class, paying close attention to the teacher's words. She knew the class would end any second now, and that everyone else was excited for the summer holidays. Elphaba however dreaded when class would end, she'd be forced to spend the summer with her father. She still had bruises from when he'd gotten particularly mad, and he took it out of Elphaba. Most people's favorite parts of the high school experience were making friends and going to parties. Elphaba's favorite part was class. Most of the teachers liked her; she was one of the few that listened in class. Soon, the bell rang, blending in with the cheers of the students as they jumped out of their desks, running for the door. Elphaba got up calmly, like it was just another day, and she carefully put her book in her bag. It was her last day at MHS (Munchkinland High School) because she was a senior. She was 16, and had skipped 10th grade so she was younger than the other seniors, but she would be turning 17 soon. Her dream was to attend Shiz University, but her father had other plans for her. It all depended on whether Nessa wanted to go or not. If she did, her father would send her along as a servant to Nessa, if Nessa didn't wish to attend, Elphaba was stuck at home, dealing with her father and doing all of the work like she did every summer, everyday. As Elphaba was about to walk out of the door, her teacher called her.

"Miss Elphaba, could you come here for a moment?" asked Madame Benchley.

"Yes Madame Benchley?" asked Elphaba politely, Madame Benchley was her favorite teacher.

"Where did you get all of those bruises?" asked Madame Benchley, thinking that getting straight to the point would be the best approach.

"I...uh...." Elphaba stalled. She didn't want anyone to know about how her father treated her; it would only lead to more trouble if someone found out. "Um...I...fell." Elphaba finished lamely.

"Really?" asked the Madame skeptically, she'd been watching Elphaba ever since she saw her father (Frex) yell at her one day when he picked her and Nessa up from the school. The way he'd roughly treated her, pushing her into the carriage and then how the next day, she'd shown up at school with multiple bruises. That was back in the 8th grade when Madame Benchley first started teaching, and it seemed everyday Elphaba had a different bruise or scar. She'd wanted to question Elphaba about this, but she had no proof.

"Um, yes Madame, I was um, walking home and reading at the same time and got hit by a salespersons cart." Elphaba didn't notice she'd changed her story, but Madame Benchley certainly did.

"You just said you fell." the Madame pressed.

"I did, after I got hit with the cart." Elphaba stammered, remembering her original story.

"I see, well, please be more careful." Madame Benchley said with a sigh. Elphaba nodded and hurried out of the class. Madame Benchley went to her window and watched Elphaba walk out, pushing her younger sister Nessarose along in her wheelchair. Never before had Madame Benchley seen Nessa with so much as dirt on her shoes. Elphaba began to walk (and wheel) Nessa down the road home, when Frex showed up. He pushed Elphaba roughly to the ground, out of the way and took hold of Nessa's wheelchair; he then began to push Nessa home himself. Elphaba quickly got up and dusted off her skirts before following silently after her father. Madame Benchley shook her head sadly; she decided tomorrow, she would alert the officials of child abuse in Elphaba's case.

********

"You might have just asked me to move." Elphaba told Frex.

"Keep your mouth shut." ordered Frex. Elphaba didn't say anything, but chose to glare at the back of Frex's head; she really wasn't in the mood. The three walked silently for a while, until Frex began to speak to Nessa.

"My darling Nessa how was your day?" he asked sweetly, a voice he'd never used in addressing Elphaba.

"It was good father, a fine way to end the year." said Nessa, nodding her head politely.

"That's wonderful." Frex smiled down lovingly at Nessa. Nessa turned her head back to look at Elphaba.

"Elphaba how was your day?" she asked.

"It was fine." Elphaba replied softly, not wanting to anger Frex by speaking.

"That's good." said Nessa; not knowing what else there was to be said. They lapsed back into silence until they saw the big mansion pull into view, the governor's mansion. There were several large empty rooms, all of them suitable bedrooms. Nessa had the biggest bed room and Elphaba had the cramped attic, barely even bigger than a coat closet. The light in the attic wasn't always working very well and when it rained, the water seeped through in droplets that burned her flesh. She'd asked Frex if she could move into a different room, but was yelled at for not being grateful for what she already had, and was locked in the attic, no meals for 5 days.

"Elphaba, take your sister for a walk, and be back in no less than 10 minutes." ordered Frex once he'd entered the house.

"Yes father." Elphaba nodded and began to wheel Nessa back out of the house. Frex nodded and walked up to his office.

"Now that father isn't here, you can tell me how your day _really_ went." said Nessa once they were moving down the path away from their house.

"It was fine Nessa." said Elphaba, "How was yours?"

"Well, you know that boy Fredrick?" asked Nessa excitedly. Elphaba nodded and Nessa continued with her story, "Well, he asked me out!" Nessa squealed.

"I'm really happy for you Nessa." said Elphaba, smiling w_armly at her sister. She knew this wasn't the reaction Nessa had been hoping for, but Elphaba couldn't bring herself_ to squeal and gush over boys, not even for Nessa.

"Me too! I'm meeting him tomorrow for a date, he's picking me up at seven, do you think father will be ok with that?" asked Nessa.

"I'm sure anything that makes you happy shall make you happy." Elphaba said, not fully answering the question.

"I hope so, because I just _know_ Fredrick is the one." Nessa gushed. Elphaba rolled her eyes, she was wondering when this sudden rush of girly boy-talk would start with Nessa. It happened to all of the other girls at Elphaba's school, whenever she heard them talking, it was either making fun of her, or chatting/squealing about boys.

"The one." Elphaba repeated slowly, the phrase hanging in the air, "How do you know what 'the one' is if this is your first boyfriend?"

"Elphie, when you find the one, I guarantee you'll know." Nessa said. Elphaba rolled her eyes again and sighed.

"Whatever." she said. Nessa huffed.

"Do you think father will be angry about me dating?" asked Nessa.

"I already told you, whatever makes you happy will make--" Elphaba was cut off.

"Yes I know, it will make him happy, but what if it doesn't? Maybe he will be angry! Oh, Elphaba, will you stay with me when I tell him?" Nessa pleaded. Elphaba considered this, she couldn't very well say no to her sister, after a life time of saying yes and only yes.

"I..." Elphaba stalled.

"Please!" Nessa begged.

"Alright, fine." Elphaba grumbled, "But don't drag me into any on this mess, I'll stand there okay? Nothing more."

"Fine." Nessa huffed again, "I suppose that will have to do." Elphaba nodded and began to steer Nessa's wheelchair home. They reached home 5 minutes later, Nessa fidgeting the whole way about telling father. Elphaba rolled Nessa to her father's office door and knocked quietly.

"Come in." came the reply. Elphaba pushed Nessa in and wheeled her over in front of Frex's desk. He seemed surprised at first, then he put on his father's face and smiled at Nessa.

"What is it my beautiful Nessa?" he asked.

"Well, you see father..." Nessa began, "Today at school, this boy, well....he---um...yeah, and so..." Frex watched her confused at her anxiety and nervous face. Elphaba sighed and rolled her eyes, stepping forward.

"Nessa's been asked out by Fredrick, a boy in her class, and wants to know if you are alright with it. He will be by tomorrow to pick up Nessa at seven for a date." Elphaba said. Frex stared at her for a moment, comprehending her words, then turned to look at Nessa.

"A boy?" he asked Nessa. She nodded meekly. Frex looked worried for a moment, then a grin enveloped his face, "Such wonderful news! Nessa, I'm perfectly fine with this, guaranteed I'll be meeting him that is." Frex really was glad, he wanted Nessa to have a happy life, and it seemed this Fredrick could make that happen.

"You will!" Nessa rushed, she was practically beaming, happy her father didn't care. She motioned to Elphaba, who pushed Nessa's wheelchair forward so that Nessa could hug her father. Frex returned the hug and smiled at her.

**********

The next day, Elphaba was in Nessa's room, helping her get ready for her date.

"What is this?" asked Elphaba, holding up an eyelash curler.

"It's an eyelash curler." said Nessa, rolling her eyes.

"It looks like something you'd use to slaughter a pig." Elphaba replied, setting it down quickly. Nessa bristled at Elphaba comment and took the eyelash curler and quickly curled her lashes. Elphaba stood their awkwardly.

"Um, Nessa, it's nearly seven and you still haven't picked out a dress. I you want my help getting you into it, you'll have to choose." said Elphaba after watching Nessa sit the eyelash curler down, satisfied with its affects.

"Ooh! Almost seven you say?!" Nessa squealed.

"Yes, now choose a dress." Elphaba ordered sternly.

"Yes ma'am." Nessa mocked. Elphaba rolled her eyes and turned to her sister sharply.

"If you won't pick out a dress, I will." said Elphaba, she walked over to Nessa's closet. Nessa couldn't help but admire how graceful Elphaba was, without even realizing it! Nessa had watched people walk before, usually with jealousy, but she'd watched, studying them. But of all of the people she'd watched, Elphaba moved with the most grace Nessa had ever seen. It surprised Nessa somewhat, as well did her sister's beauty. She always thought Elphaba was much more beautiful than her, and she envied her for that. Although, she'd rather be ugly than have green skin. But in a way it made Elphaba look even prettier. Nessa couldn't see why so many people called her ugly; it was probably because all they saw was her green skin. People had said such hateful things to Elphaba, she believed herself to be ugly too. Nessa wondered how Elphaba could think that, hadn't she ever looked at herself in a mirror? Still though, Nessa envied her sister. Nessa was shaken from her thoughts as Elphaba held a plain black dress in front of her.

"How about this?" Elphaba asked mockingly. Nessa's eyes grew wide.

"No, no, no! Please don't make me wear that!" she cried. Elphaba laughed good naturedly. There, that was another thing Nessa envied of her sister, she had the most beautiful laugh (however rare it was heard) and along with the laugh, there was the most beautiful voice she had ever heard. Not even Frex could disagree with Nessa on the fact of her voice. He had often forced Elphaba to sing for him on occasions. As much as it hurt Nessa to watch her father force her sister to sing (sometimes going as far as physical blows when she refused) Nessa didn't protest against her father, because she could never give up a chance to listen to Elphaba sing. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard.

"Hello? Nessa?" Elphaba waved a hand in front of Nessa's face. Nessa snapped back.

"Sorry, I was thinking." said Nessa.

"About Fredrick?" Elphaba teased, "I suppose that's all you'll be thinking about for a while now."

"Ha ha, very funny." Nessa snipped. She winced slightly as she listened to her own voice in comparison to Elphaba's. Even when she spoke it drew Nessa to more jealousy. When she was younger, she'd ask Elphaba to tell her stories, just so she could listen to her voice, but she couldn't very well ask her for stories anymore.

"I'm very humorous aren't I?" said Elphaba, teasing Nessa again good naturedly.

"I'm falling off of my chair with laughter." Nessa replied. Elphaba grinned at her.

"Seriously though Nessa, you're date should be arriving any minute." said Elphaba sternly, she wheeled Nessa over to her closet, "Choose a dress." she ordered in a serious tone. After a while, Nessa picked a blue dress.

"Nessa, you look beautiful in this dress." Elphaba said. Nessa blushed, how could her sister (In all her unfair beauty) think _her_ beautiful?

"You really think so?" said Nessa shyly.

"Of course. I'd bet Fredrick would ask you to marry right here tonight once he sees you." Elphaba was teasing her again, but her words sounded sincere. Nessa blushed again.

"Elphaba, could you do my hair?" asked Nessa.

"I think it looks pretty down." said Elphaba.

"Could you add a flower or at least _something_ to it so it doesn't look quite so plain?" Nessa said, studying herself in the mirror.

"Of course." Elphaba said. She found a flower clip on Nessa's vanity and gently set it in Nessa's hair. It looked really good and Nessa thanked Elphaba. She silently wished she had hair like Elphaba's, then she wouldn't need a flower to make it look pretty. Elphaba heard a noise and walked to the window.

"He's here." she said, peering out through the curtain. Fredrick was walking up the walk to the mansion, bouquet in hand, telling the carriage driver to wait. Elphaba heard a girlish squeal from Nessa and rolled her eyes.

"Come! Let's go!" Nessa exclaimed. Elphaba obliged quickly and took her sister to the front door. Just as they got there, there was a knock on the door. Just as Elphaba was about to answer it, Frex shoved her away.

"You, get out of here, I don't want our guest to see you." Frex growled at her.

"What, ashamed at the fact that I _live_ here?" Elphaba asked, glaring defiantly at her father.

"As a matter of fact I am." said Frex. Elphaba glowered at him.

"Father, let Elphaba stay, she won't do any harm." said Nessa gently.

"I don't want her here." said Frex, his tone softening when he spoke to Nessa. Frex then turned back to Elphaba, his harsh tone returning full force, "Now go upstairs to the attic, and don't come out till tomorrow."

"Make me." Elphaba glared at him. Frex growled under his breath and hit Elphaba across the face. Then he grabbed her arm, ready to drag her up the stairs if he had to.

"Father!" Nessa said softly. Frex let go of Elphaba.

"I'm sorry Nessa, I'm ruining this for you. I'll go." and Elphaba flew of the stairs. Nessa watched her go, a sad look on her face, but that was put aside when she heard another knock on the door. Frex was still glaring at the stairs Elphaba had gone up and Nessa was worried about what he'd do to her once she left, but put that aside as well as Frex swung the door open to reveal Fredrick.

"Hello young man, welcome, come in." said Frex, his glare gone as he smiled broadly at the young man before him. He stepped aside to allow Fredrick passage inside.


	2. Running Away

Elphaba closed the door quietly behind her, calming down after her argument with Frex. _Poor Nessa_, she thought, _I've ruined everything for her_. Elphaba sat on her bed and breathed in deeply, relaxing. About 10 minutes later, she could hear her father storming up the steps. He banged on the door.

"Elphaba!" he yelled, "Get out!" Elphaba got up slowly and went to the door and opened it timidly. As soon as she opened the door, Frex reached in and grabbed Elphaba, pulling her out roughly. Elphaba stumbled forward.

"You ungrateful little brat!" he yelled at her, "You're sister's one chance at happiness and you almost go and ruin it for her!"

"I'm sorry!" Elphaba said, and she truly was.

"You're going to be!" Frex thundered, throwing her down the steps. She fell and tumbled down the steps, bruises coloring her skin even more; mixed with the blood the sharp edges in the stairs had cause. She clutched onto the stair rail to get back up. Frex watched her coldly.

"Perhaps I will spare you tonight," said Frex through his teeth, "If you sing for me."

"No." Elphaba said darkly. She didn't mind singing, she actually enjoyed it most of the time, but singing on an order, especially one from her father, she couldn't do that.

"Fine." said Frex, he grabbed her wrist and slammed her into the wall. Then he pushed and kicked her until she was at the top of the stairs again. She threw up blood and fell forward. He quickly pulled her up roughly and shoved her into the attic, slamming the door and locking it with several locks.

"You will stay in there without meals for a week, do you hear me?!" thundered Frex.

"Loud and clear!" Elphaba yelled back. Frex glared at the door for a moment before going back downstairs. Elphaba went to her bed and curled up on it, throwing up blood again. She quickly wiped the blood from her mouth and sat there, rocking. _Just a little bit longer_, she told herself, A _little bit longer and you can go to Shiz with Nessa, away from this horrid man_. Elphaba could only pray beyond everything that Nessa wanted to go to Shiz.

*****

Nessa saw the blood when she got home, splattered across the stairs and the wall. She groaned inwardly and wheeled herself to her room after sharing a sweet kiss with Fredrick, making sure he didn't come inside. Somehow, Nessa couldn't bring it in herself to feel too terribly bad about this incident, it'd happened before, and she was just too happy about how her date had gone with Fredrick. Later, Nessa was informed that Elphaba had been locked in the attic for a week. Nessa would have to wait a whole week to tell her sister the grand news. A week passed and Nessa waited patiently, then one day as she was wheeling herself to breakfast, she heard her sister, humming softly from the kitchen. She was cooking pancakes and eggs for the family. The table was already set, but only for two.

"Good morning Elphaba." said Nessa cheerily, glad to see her sister again.

"Morning Nessa." Elphaba replied; she stopped humming immediately. Nessa watched her sister cook, yet another thing Elphaba was good at. She made the best food you'd ever tasted, which was another reason Nessa hated when her sister was locked away, the maids cooking tasted like garbage when you had it compared to Elphaba's. Nessa wondered how Elphaba had ever learned to cook like that, having no one to teach her, she wondered if it was just natural.

"Are you hungry?" asked Elphaba after the silence turned awkward.

"Very much." Nessa replied with a nod, she rolled over to her spot at the table, "Is father joining us?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you set him a spot as well, you don't want him to yell at you." said Nessa.

"I did." Elphaba replied, keeping her eyes on the pancakes and eggs.

"Well, where's your plate and silverware?" asked Nessa.

"I'm not allowed to eat today, just allowed out of the attic to cook the meals." Elphaba explained softly.

"Oh." Nessa averted her eyes to her plate and looked down. Then she wheeled herself to Elphaba's side, placing a gentle hand on Elphaba's. Nessa was amazed at the softness of Elphaba's skin, it made her own skin seem rough and dry. She wondered how someone as abused as Elphaba could have skin as soft as silk. She looked at her sister and her eyes grew wider, it was as if seeing something different about her for the first time. Elphaba was thin...very thin, it broke Nessa's heart. Nessa could feel the bones in her wrist, but still, thin as Elphaba may be, she still looked beautiful. You hardly noticed that she was that heart-wrenching thin until you really looked at her, otherwise, she just had a slender figure, very delicate and pretty in fact, Nessa wished she had a figure like that. People always called her a delicate little beauty, but she could hardly see how that was so when she saw how delicate and beautiful her sister was.

"Are you alright?" asked Nessa.

"I'm fine." said Elphaba briskly, dismissing the matter. She turned back to the stove to flip the pancakes.

"If you say so." Nessa sighed as she wheeled back to the table. Elphaba was just putting the pancakes on the plates when Frex came in.

"Is breakfast ready?" he demanded coldly.

"Yes father." Elphaba said, setting two pancakes on his plate.

"Good, now come on." Frex walked over and grabbed Elphaba. She winced at the pressure he held her and he took her back to the attic and locked her in. He came back down and began eating, as much as he hated to admit it, he'd missed Elphaba's cooking.

"I thought her punishment only lasted a week!" Nessa exclaimed, she usually never raised her voice in her father's presence.

"I let her out, didn't I?" said Frex.

"Yes, but only to cook for us!" Nessa argued.

"I don't see why it matter so much to you, you should be happy not to put up with her right now." Frex said. Nessa sighed.

"But I have something to tell her." she said, she had been longing to tell Elphaba about her date with Fredrick ever since it had happened.

"Fine, I'll let her out after breakfast." said Frex. They finished breakfast in silence. After the meal, Nessa prompted her father to go let Elphaba out. He nodded curtly and went to the attic door.

*********

Elphaba was sitting on her bed, trying to clean up some of the blood that was splattered all over the room. It had dried and seemed permanent. She was surprised when she heard the locks and bolts on her door open and see her father open the door.

"Was your breakfast unsatisfactory?" asked Elphaba trying to be polite so she could be let out of the room.

"It was fine." Frex said darkly, "I'm letting you out."

"Really?" Elphaba asked hopefully getting off of her bed.

"You have your sister to thank for this. She wants to talk to you." Frex growled. Elphaba hurried out of the room, thin enough to slide right past Frex without even touching him. She went downstairs to Nessa's room, knowing Nessa must be wanting to tell her about her date with Fredrick. Elphaba knocked lightly on Nessa's door.

"Come in." was Nessa's soft reply. Elphaba gently pushed open the door and closed it behind her.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Elphaba, smiling at her sister, glad she had stuck up for her and made her father let her out of the cramped bloody attic.

"Oh Elphaba, it's you!" Nessa jumped. Elphaba laughed and nodded.

"So, on with it! How was your date?" asked Elphaba, knowing this was what Nessa was getting at. Nessa was now smiling ear to ear as she began to tell Elphaba all about it. Elphaba found herself smiling to now, happy that her sister was happy. Then the smile began to fade as she registered that last thing Nessa had said.

"Wait, he wants you to stay with his family next year in the Emerald City?" asked Elphaba.

"Yes! Isn't it wonderful? All I have to do is ask father!" Nessa chimed.

"So, you're not going to Shiz?" asked Elphaba, starting to panic. She couldn't spend any more time in this house with Frex, and if Nessa was going to the Emerald City, that left Elphaba alone with her father.

"No, I think I'd like to go with Fredrick." Nessa said. Her eyes confused at Elphaba's reaction. She expected her sister to laugh and tease her, be happy for her. But all she saw was pure horror cross Elphaba's face. Suddenly, Elphaba was on her knees in front of Nessa, grabbing her hand and looking deep into her eyes.

"Nessa, please, please, I have never asked anything of you, nothing, but I am asking you now, please, for me. Just this one thing, please attend Shiz; I can't stand to live here anymore, please!" Elphaba begged her sister, her words desperate. Nessa stared at her sister in shock.

"I..." Nessa began.

"Please Nessa, please, for me! I've always done everything you've asked of me, and I will do more if you just please sacrifice this one thing for me." Elphaba pleaded again.

"I'm sorry Elphaba, but I—I can't." Nessa said, her heart breaking for her sister. She knew she was being incredibly selfish. Elphaba had done everything for her, sacrificed everything. And Nessa had never done anything for Elphaba. Elphaba had never asked her for anything, and now that she was finally asking for just one thing. Nessa could find it in herself to do so. She was so selfish, she loathed herself then when she chose Fredrick, _love makes bastards of us all_, she decided.

"Please!" Elphaba asked again, Nessa could feel her heart splinter as she saw tears form in the corners of Elphaba's eyes. Elphaba had never cried.

"Elphaba, don't cry, you'll burn yourself!" Nessa cried.

"Why do you care?!" Elphaba cried, she suddenly stood up and was fleeing out of the room. She ran and ran, she needed someone to talk to, anyone. She came across her old teacher, Madame Benchley. Madame Benchley looked at the poor girl and immediately knew that something was wrong, she enwrapped Elphaba in a tight hug.

"What is wrong dear child?" asked Madame Benchley. Elphaba quickly told the Madame about her sister's choice and what that meant for her. How she'd be at home all summer a slave to her father. Elphaba hadn't directly told Madame Benchley about her father's abuse, just that she had to do all of the work, but Madame Benchley figured it out, from what she saw, Elphaba's story wasn't half as bad what was _really_ going on. Elphaba was leaving out a lot.

"It's alright dear Elphaba, I've alerted the child abuse program, they'll get you out." said Madame Benchley.

"What? Why would you do that?!" Elphaba shouted. She jumped off the bench she had been sitting on with Madame Benchley.

"You were hurt." Madame Benchley said, this wasn't the reaction she had been expecting.

"Did I tell you that? Who do you think you are? You think you know about everything that goes on in my life. You don' know anything. You shouldn't have done this. He will kill me! You've ruined everything!" Elphaba shouted, "I can't ever go back there now, you've made an orphan of me!" Elphaba ran away from the woman straight back home. She ran to the attic and packed what little belonging she had in a small satchel and ran back out after leaving a short letter for Nessa, hidden under her pillow. Then she ran back out of the house, no one saw her come in, and no one saw her leave. Nessa was still sulking in her bedroom and Frex was still in his office. Elphaba's escape was made unnoticed and she ran, for some reason the air she breathed in felt different. She'd been in these woods several time before and breathed its air, but now that air was more fresh, she felt free and she kept running, and didn't look back once.


	3. Elias

Elphaba wore loose brown trousers and a loose brown jacket over her a white shirt. She had to wear loose clothes, because if she didn't, they would cling too tightly to her body, and her feminism would be obvious to anyone. She also wore gloves to cover her green skin. She wore a cap that she put her long hair underneath and she kept it lowered so as to hide her face. She wondered if she'd be able to get away with this. But she'd gotten this far, hadn't she? She stood in the kitchen, the job of a boy servant. The jobs of cleaning, stable work, (any work for that matter) and waiting on the royals of the castle, King Dettri, Queen Aliandra and their son, Prince Fiyero. She hadn't met them, and wasn't supposed to. She followed an old cook around the kitchen as she was directed her work. The old woman was squinting at Elphaba's application.

"Says here you're name's Elias, that right?" said the old woman.

"Um, actually, it's El-eye-us, with an I, not and E." said Elphaba in the lowest voice she could muster (it wasn't very low).

"Right, how old are you?" asked the old cook. Elphaba figured she didn't really have to lie about this.

"16." she replied, about the only thing she was being truthful about.

"They get younger each day." the woman muttered to herself, she then looked at Elphaba, up and down, causing Elphaba to look down and pull the edge of her cap lower. The old woman had an odd expression on her face, "What're the gloves and cap for?"

"Um, religious reasons." Elphaba muttered.

"Huh, never heard of that religion." the woman remarked, "You've got to be the skinniest boy I've ever seen, anyway here, this is your room number, go find it then meet me back here." the woman handed Elphaba a small paper with the name, Elias written on it and a room number beneath. Elphaba wandered around the castle's servant's quarters till she found it. It was isolated from the other rooms, she figured it would've been since she'd gotten the last job and everyone else would've already chosen the better rooms, this was obviously the last one left (she would've taken the maid's job, then she wouldn't have needed to dress as a boy, but those jobs were taken.) The room was small, reminding her of the attic she'd lived in at home. She walked in and set her satchel down on the dusty bed, and let out a long sigh of relief. She walked back down to meet the old woman.

"Here, take this to Prince Fiyero, it's his breakfast, if he's not awake, don't wake him. Just set it on his desk." The old woman said, handing a large tray of food in silver dishes to Elphaba. She almost dropped it, but caught it just in time.

"Where's his room?" asked Elphaba, using both hands to hold the large tray.

"The top floor, in the east wing, you'll find it." the old woman gave Elphaba a shove up the stairs that almost sent her flying, but she caught herself and hurried up the stairs as fast as she could without dropping the tray.

*******

After much wandering, Elphaba had found her way to what she assumed to be Prince Fiyero's room. She knocked quietly, then remembered she was supposed to be a boy and knocked a little harder. After a while, a sleepy Fiyero was at the door. He opened it to see who it was.

"Yes?" he asked. Elphaba found it hard to breathe for a moment as she looked at the boy in front of her. He had messy blonde hair, light smooth skin and mesmerizing blue eyes. She quickly regained her composure though and straightened up in an attempt to appear more like a boy.

"Um, your breakfast." Elphaba muttered, almost forgetting to keep her voice low.

"Oh, thank you." said Fiyero, he looked at Elphaba quizzically for a moment before taking the tray and holding it in one hand. Elphaba had had to use both of her arms to carry the tray, which went to show that she definitely did not have the masculinity of a man, which is why she wore loose clothes.

"Hey, are you new?" asked Fiyero. He always liked to know his servants names so he didn't just call them 'hey, you' or 'you there', knowing their names made him feel better about having servants.

"Uh, yeah, I started today." said Elphaba. Fiyero looked at her. He saw a boy who looked to be about the lankiest boy he'd ever seen. He was several inches shorter than him and he couldn't make out his face because of the cap he wore. He also noted that he talked weird, like he had to remember how to speak.

"What's your name?" asked Fiyero.

"Elias." said Elphaba promptly.

"I'm Fiyero, nice to meet you." said Fiyero. Elphaba nodded.

"Nice to meet you too." she murmured back before she left, stumbling down the stairs quickly. Fiyero stared after her (a he in his mind) and then went back to his room to eat his breakfast.

*****

As soon as she was out of sight, Elphaba leaned against the wall and let out the breath she'd been holding. She'd almost blown her cover back there, she couldn't let that happen. She decided to make it a point to avoid Fiyero...and those mesmerizing blue eyes of his.

*******

That plan didn't work too well. Two weeks later, she was given the job of being Fiyero's personal servant. She had proven not to be manly enough for all of the work the other boy servants did, so she got his job instead. It was alright, better than everything the boys did, it was hard and required a lot of muscle in which she lacked. She followed Fiyero everywhere and cleaned his room and brought his meals to him and got his horses ready for him when he wanted to go riding etc. The job forced her to spend more time with Fiyero, and in doing so, they became pretty good friends.

"Elias," Fiyero said as he lay on his bed, twiddling a pencil around in his hand as Elphaba cleaned his room.

"Yes Master Fiyero?" Elphaba said, she was instructed to call him that even though Fiyero had asked her countless times to just call him Fiyero.

"Fiyero, the name's Fiyero!" said Fiyero, hating that his only real friend called him _Master_. He supposed that Elias was technically a servant, but that didn't matter. Fiyero didn't have many real friends, they just befriended him for his title, which he was fine with, obviously shallow friends were better than no friends, right? But Elias seemed different, he actually seemed to listen when Fiyero was talking, and he actually answered back in intelligent answers and had more to speak of then just girls.

"Um, yes, Master Fiyero?" Elphaba said Master anyway, trying to avoid a beating from the servant head for dropping the honorary on Fiyero's name. Fiyero sighed at the honorary.

"I've been thinking, and this is an odd friendship we have." Fiyero thought aloud.

"Considering you are a Prince and I am your servant, I would not really describe this as a friendship, more so as an acquaintance." Elphaba replied.

"Our current jobs or standings are not what I was referring to. I was referring to the fact that I've never once seen your face." said Fiyero, looking straight at Elphaba. He continued, "It's like being friends with a stranger. Why don't you take the stupid cap off?"

"I told you, religious reasons." Elphaba muttered, instinctively lowering her head so as to make her face even harder to see. She thought it ironic that she (who was the least religious person in Oz, would be using religion as a cover for the odd attire she wore)

"I suppose that's why you wear those gloves all the time to right? 'Religious reasons?'" Fiyero said mockingly.

"Yes." Elphaba said, picking up his morning breakfast tray with the dirty dishes on it and setting it on the cart she'd brought up. She went around the room picking up his dirty clothes and putting them on the cart as well.

"What happens if you take off the cap?" asked Fiyero curiously.

"Then I get into a lot of trouble." said Elphaba, this wasn't a lie.

"With whom?" Fiyero pressed.

"Um...my...father." Elphaba said, this wasn't a lie either. If her father knew this was where she'd been the whole time, he'd probably come here and take her back to Munchkinland, and who knew what he'd do from then on.

"Oh, harsh father?" asked Fiyero.

"Yeah..." Elphaba murmured, shutting out the memories of her father and trying to steer Fiyero away from the subject of herself.

"I've got to say, you've got to be the lankiest boy I've ever seen." said Fiyero.

"Thank you Master." Elphaba said sarcastically, "It's not as though I've never been told that before."

Fiyero chuckled, "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you turned out to be a girl." he mused, laughing at his joke. Elphaba however froze and immediately began to panic. Had he figured her out? Fiyero noticed Elphaba's sudden stop in movement.

"I was only joking Elias." Fiyero said quickly.

"Oh, right." Elphaba was able to murmur through her sigh of relief and relaxing.

"So, I'm going to throw a name out at you, tell me if you know who it is." said Fiyero, leaning back into his bed.

"Alright." Elphaba agreed.

"Galinda Upland." said Fiyero.

"Don't know her." Elphaba said.

"She's coming over tomorrow, we started dating last month." Fiyero explained. Elphaba felt her heart drop at the mention of Fiyero dating someone.

"Oh, what is she like?" asked Elphaba.

"She's...blonde." said Fiyero, "Very perky and talkative."

"She sounds nice." Elphaba commented wryly. This girl sounded completely snobbish and annoying.

"I suppose she is." said Fiyero.

"You suppose? Don't you know?" asked Elphaba.

"Well, it's not that I don't like her, it's just...I don't know if I love her." Fiyero mused, "I mean, I hear all of these great things about love and crap, and if this is love, it is extremely over rated."

"Well, maybe you just haven't met the one." said Elphaba, remembering how her sister had talked of Fredrick.

"The one?" asked Fiyero.

"You know what I'm talking about." Elphaba said.

"No I don't, care to enlighten me?" Fiyero said.

"Look Fiyero," Elphaba began.

"Ha! You didn't' say Master!" Fiyero exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry. You know, I don't know much about all this love stuff, but if you don't like Galinda, you should break up with her. It's cruel to lead her on." Elphaba said. Fiyero thought about this for a second.

"I didn't say I didn't like her." he said, "But I'm just not sure if she's 'the one', as you put it."

"Well, maybe you should go out with her a little longer and get to know her." said Elphaba, "I'm sure feelings can grow."

"I suppose. Would you mind spending the day with us?" said Fiyero, "I never know what to do when I'm alone with her except to compliment her on what she's wearing."

"If you insist Master Fiyero." Elphaba said.

"FIYERO! Drop the Master!" Fiyero groaned.

"Yes...Fiyero." Elphaba said.

"Thank you." Fiyero sighed, "Anyway. So you'll be spending the day with us?"

"If that is what you wish." Elphaba murmured.

"Great." Fiyero sighed with relief. Elphaba nodded and began to push the cart of dirty clothes and dishes out of his room. She carted it downstairs, nervous about meeting this Galinda character.


	4. Galinda's Suspicions

"Is that her?" asked Elphaba the next day as she cleaned one of Fiyero's bed room windows. She could see out of the window she was cleaning a rather large carriage pull into the grand castle drive. A petite little blonde girl stepped out, caring a parcel over her head to shade herself from the sun, Elphaba rolled her eyes. She was dressed in a gagging pink dress and heels as tall as a quoxwood tree. But the heels still didn't do much for her height. They just made her _that_ much easier to tip over. Her blonde curls bounced on her shoulders as she walked inside...rather carefully in those monster heels. Fiyero came up behind Elphaba and looked out the window as well.

"Yes, that's her." he said, sounding amused.

"That's some dress." Elphaba commented, nodding towards the huge poof ball the blonde was wearing.

"Yeah, she likes that type of stuff." Fiyero chuckled, "Come on, let's go greet her."

*************

Galinda stood in the entrace way of the grand palace, gazing about her wondrously, she secretly hoped that one day this would be her home...her and Fiyero's home...and their children's home...and their grandchildren's home...no, wait a second, she didn't even want to think about how old she'd have to be to have grandchildren.

"Galinda!" she could hear Fiyero's greeting, loud and echoing in the large high-ceilinged hall.

"Fiyero, dearest!" she ran to him like they did in the movies and wrapped her arms his neck. A little ways behind Fiyero was the scrawniest boy Galinda had ever seen. He was short, not shorter than her, but pretty short for a boy, why he probably wasn't even 3 inches taller than Galinda and _everyone_ towered over Galinda...well, save for the Munchkins. He looked even skinnier than Galinda! And Galinda was one who took great pride in the small amount of weight she held and for a boy to be even skinnier than she was just about shattered her pride, but she soon got over it. He had on a messengers cap, long sleeved loose clothes and...gloves? The cap hid his face, making a dark shadow across his face, so Galinda's couldn't make out his features.

"I trust you've been well?" Fiyero asked jovially.

"Just peaches darling! And you?" Galinda asked, perkiness filling her voice, she thought she heard the scrawny boy behind Fiyero stifle a laugh. Galinda took an immediate dislike to him.

"I've been fine." said Fiyero with a smile, "Now, I'd like you to meet my friend." Fiyero pulled Galinda closer and the strange boy stepped forward a little.

"Galinda, this is Elias. Elias, this is my girlfriend, Galinda Upland." Fiyero introduced the two.

"It's nice to meet you Elias." Galinda said with a little giggle at the scrawny boy.

"Pleasure." said Elias, sounding the least bit close to pleasured. Galinda scowled at him which only made Elias suppress another laugh. Galinda noted how the voice sounded labored, like he usually spoke in a different language and speaking English was hard or something.

"Well, I thought Elias could spend the day with us." said Fiyero after the silence turned awkward.

"How thoughtful dearest." said Galinda.

"Yeah, so....we could go..." Fiyero thought.

"Shopping?" Galinda asked hopefully. Elias groaned and Galinda shot him a glare.

"No, how about....swimming?" asked Fiyero hurriedly, noticing the silent feud between his girlfriend and best friend.

"No!" Elphaba said quickly, "I mean, you two can go, but if you do, I think I'll just stay here and work."

"Swimming sounds wonderful dearest!" said Galinda, jumping at the chance for this Elias character to get out of the picture.

"Well, Elias doesn't want to. How about...the market? We could go and look at what they've got and walk around. It's a nice day out. How does that sound?" he asked.

"Oh that sounds delightful; I saw the prettiest necklace the other day...." Galinda squealed.

"Great, how 'bout I buy it for you?" Fiyero offered, smiling at her and kissing her forehead.

"Oh dearest, it's much too much expensive." Galinda looked down modestly all of a sudden.

"Nothing's too expensive for my Galinda." Fiyero touched her nose. Elphaba rolled her eyes; luckily, her cap shadowed her face so nobody saw.

******************

In the market, the odd trio walked about the shops and carts set outside. It was a cute little alley and everywhere Fiyero went someone nodded at him and smiled, and then there was the occasional bow that never failed to make Fiyero blush. Galinda watched Elias closely, she didn't like him, not one bit, and there was something weird about him. Suddenly it struck her, Elias was gay! Hah! That _had_ to be it. Because Elias certainly didn't like her and he was always carrying Fiyero's stuff for him and walking behind them...probably to get a good look at Fiyero's butt or something. Galinda glared at Elias, so this was her competitor eh?

"Fiyero darling, would you mind getting me a glass of water?" asked Galinda.

"I'll do it." said Elias. Galinda glared at him, she wanted a moment alone with Elias to slice his hopes before Fiyero accidently lead him on. She was Fiyero's lover, not him. Besides, Fiyero didn't swing on that side of the tree.

"No, I want Fiyero to get it." said Galinda sharply.

"But I--" Elphaba began, wondering what this Galinda character had in plan. She didn't really like her. And what if she lost her job because she didn't get the water for Fiyero? He wasn't supposed to have to lift a finger.

"Elias, calm down." said Fiyero with a wave of his hand, "I'll go get it."

"But Mas--" Elphaba began. Galinda froze up at this. Mas? What was the end of this...whatever Elias was about to call him. So, he had a pet name for him did he? And it started with Mas...hmmm.

"Jus wait here with Galinda." said Fiyero, "I'll be right back. You two can get to know each other."

Once Fiyero was out of earshot, Galinda turned sharply on her heel so that she faced Elias

"Now you listen here _Elias_," Galinda began, "This may be hard for you to comprehend but Fiyero loves me, he's dating me, he doesn't like you and lastly, he doesn't swing that way!" Galinda yelled in his face. Elias stared at her for a long moment. Or at least Galinda _thought_ Elias was staring at her, it was hard to tell with that stupid cap shadowing his face.

"You—you think I'm in love with Fiyero?" Elias choked out.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do!" Galinda shrieked.

"You think I'm gay?" asked Elias, laughing hard now. Galinda blushed and looked down at her feet. Then she looked back up sharply, she wouldn't not be talked down to by this stupid boy.

"Yes I do!" Galinda said matter-of-factly, "Why do you keep carrying all of our bags? Why do you always walk behind him? Why do you always offer to do stuff for him? And why do you have a pet name for him? And yes, I know you have a pet name for him because I heard you almost call him it. It started with 'Mas'." Galinda stomped her little foot with each accusation.

"Miss Galinda," said Elias. Galinda was a little shocked at the formality, "Miss Galinda, I do those things because I'm Fiyero's servant, it's my job. I'm supposed to carry his things for him. It would be inappropriate for me to walk side by side with him or in front of him. I offer to do things for him because that is what a servant does. And that 'pet name' that started with 'Mas' is Master." said Elias.

"_Oh_." Galinda said quietly. She felt a blush steel over her face as she realized her mistake. Elias was a servant? She felt so embarrassed and rude. She'd probably insulted Elias, oh she felt terrible.

"I'm sorry." said Galinda.

"Don't mention it." said Elias quickly as Fiyero came back with a glass of water for Galinda. She smiled at him and so the afternoon went on. Galinda tried to be particularly nice to Elias for the rest of the afternoon.

*******************

Once Galinda had gone home, Elphaba was back in Fiyero's room, cleaning off the windows that she'd left unfinished when she'd wandered off to the market with Galinda. She'd been increasingly annoying and brutally blonde. She'd even suspected her of being in love with Fiyero! That was absurd. Elphaba didn't fall for boys, especially not princes...although she did always get this weird feeling when Fiyero was around. And when she'd seen Galinda and Fiyero share a kiss or two, she always tensed up. Oh sweet Oz, what was wrong with her?! Is this what her sister meant by 'when you find 'the one' you'll know'? Elphaba was pulled out of her thoughts as Fiyero spoke to her.

"So, what'd you think of Galinda?" asked Fiyero.

"Annoying." Elphaba grumbled, "But she seems your type I suppose."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fiyero asked, feeling a little offended, 'his type' so, Elias already had him labeled?

"You know...prince and blonde beauty, it matches." said Elphaba with a shrug.

"Now that's not fair Elias." said Fiyero.

"I'm sorry if I offended you." said Elphaba in a work, all business tone. Then she left, leaving Fiyero to his thoughts.

********************

Frex was pacing in his study. His stupid green freak of a daughter had gone missing about a week ago and there was no trace of her. He doubted anyone had kidnapped her. She'd probably run away, the little devil. What would happen to his reputation when people learned that his oldest daughter had run away from home? Who was going to cook his meals and sing to him? He was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. He stomped over to the door and flung it open. He jumped back slightly when he realized it was the Gale Force. They had a long piece of parchment in front of them and began to read.

"The Children's Abuse Agency has recently been informed that you, Frexspar Thropp are guilty of mistreatment and abuse to your oldest daughter, Elphaba Thropp, both verbally and physically. We are here to arrest you for said crime unless your oldest daughter, Elphaba Thropp, will speak for you." said the Gale Force member before sharply looking up to meet Frex's enraged gaze, "Where is your daughter sir?" asked the Gale Force.

"She's not here." Frex growled.

"Well, where is she?"asked the Gale Force.

"How should I know? She ran away a week ago." said Frex.

"Very well, you may stay here until she is found." said the Gale Force, "We will be back in a two months to arrest you whether she has been found or not." with that the Gale Force strode away, the two officers climbing into a Gale Force carriage. Frex stood in the doorway, breathing heavily, his eyes turning to slits and his nostrils flaring. So, his daughter had reported him had she? Who had she told? He was going to kill her! But first...he had to find the little devil.


	5. Plaza

It was Sunday, a bright sunny, beautiful Sunday and it was Elphaba's one day off. She got everyone other Sunday off. She didn't really know what to do. She was in the Vinkus, far away from Munchkinland, she wouldn't be recognized...and it was so lovely outside, and too hot for all of those other silly 'religious' garments she wore. And the hat was so annoying, not to mention the gloves. She didn't think she'd ever miss letting her hair down and wearing dresses. Elphaba quickly went to her room and took off her clothes and slipped on a black summer sun dress. It stopped at her knees and was short sleeved, made out of cotton. Nessa had given her this dress last year for her birthday, secretly of course so that Frex wouldn't know. She'd never worn because she didn't want Frex to noticed and accuse her of steeling. Elphaba took her cap off and her long silky black hair fell down gracefully and she shook it out, glad to be rid of the hot cap, at least for the day. She slipped on some black flats and grabbed her satchel with the money she'd earned in it and headed out. There was a small plaza nearby; she'd gone with Galinda and Fiyero once. It was a small cluster of cute little shops, small family business restaurants and tiny cafes that were all side by side. All of the buildings were different colors, pink, green, and purple, yellow, orange. There were no carriages aloud and the wide cobblestone street was strictly for walking pedestrians. The plaza sounded really lovely right now. She snuck out through the back when no one was looking and took the long way to the plaza through the woods so that she wouldn't be seen.

***********************

Meanwhile, Fiyero was sitting in his bedroom, staring up at the ceiling. It was Elias's day off today and he had nothing to do. Without his best friend to spend time with, Fiyero was stuck with nothing. Unless he decided to call up Galinda...nah. He had though several times of asking Elias to join him today and doing something fun like head to the market or something or play soccer. Elias was surprisingly good at soccer, he was small enough to go right past Fiyero and had really fast reflexes, he beat Fiyero every time and nobody beat Fiyero at soccer. Perhaps they could play pool downstairs in the game room or _something_. Fiyero thought it was too selfish to ask Elias to spend time with him on his day off. He knew Elias would think that he was needed as a servant, but Fiyero just wanted Elias to drop all of that and be his friend. Ah, well. Fiyero suddenly felt extremely lazy and felt he needed to go outside. He got up and strolled out into the gardens...boring. So he headed for the plaza, which sounded really nice about now.

***********************

Elphaba looked at her savings. She didn't have very much and she didn't really need money, as long as she worked at the castle. She had had two options at the castle. One was to work and be paid but she had to provide herself with her own shelter and food etc. The other option was to work and be paid in shelter and food provided for her in the castle. She'd taken up option two. The money she had was from babysitting and some of it from poker. She'd lost more than she gained. She wandered around the shops on the charming cobblestone street that were swarming with people with shopping bags or chatting with their friends. The golden brown trees lined the small street and their leaves and branches bent slightly over the street making good shade stops when the sun got really hot. Elphaba was wandering around, deciding how to spend her bit of money. She saw a lovely dress in a window and almost went inside of the store, when she saw next to the store an enchanting book store. She hurried inside and began skimming the shelves for a good book.

About 10 minutes later, Elphaba emerged from the bookstore with a large book. It wasn't what she normally read, a nonfiction book on animals, this was a fantasy, adventure novel. She'd always thought reading practical things were better than fantasy novels. She'd actually been looking at books on logic when she noticed this one. Someone had set it down in the wrong spot. She'd opened the book and read the first and soon found she couldn't stop. It was about wizards and witches and there was a hint of romance here and there. It had cost her most of her money, and she had a little left a drink or snack. She saw an ice cream parlor across the street. She looked up at the sun and suddenly had a craving for ice cream. She went inside and bought a small cup of ice cream, she'd only had ice cream twice in her life. Once was at a school field day in 3rd grade, the other time was at a birthday party of Nessa's that she was actually allowed to attend, that was in 4th grade. Outside of the ice cream parlor there was a cluster of small Paris styled tables and chair. The was a short cute little white fence around the area and many people sat there and read book while eating their ice cream or chatted with friends. It looked extremely enjoyable to Elphaba. She chose a table in the corner near the fence farther away from the other people. She set her book in front of her and began to read as she ate her ice cream. Mmm, she'd forgotten how good it was.

*************************

Fiyero was strolling down the cobblestone street, smiling charmingly at the girls who giggled as he passed by. He was enjoying the sun and fresh air. Soft music drifted from some the stores along with scents of clothes or books and ice cream. Mm. Fiyero turned his head and saw an ice cream parlor. There was a small area of tables and chair enclosed in a small white fence in front of the parlor. His eyes immediately drifted to the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. She had back silky hair that swirled in the soft breeze, sending shivers up his spine. Her lips were naturally a dark red and practically begged him to kiss them. She had soft but at the same time fierce brown eyes that made him feel warm. She was small, thin, feminine and delicate, she almost looked fragile, but somehow he could tell she wasn't to be underestimated. She wore a pretty black dress that ended just above her knees and from what he could see; she had a nice pair of legs. Then he noticed something that should have made him faint, but it just made her look even more like a goddess. She had the most beautiful emerald skin he'd ever seen. The sunlight that flickered through the trees made her glow and her hair shine. She was reading a large book that he wouldn't even dream of reading and eating ice cream. Fiyero looked around him to see if anyone else had noticed her, they had. He saw a few guys looking at her with hungry expressions on their faces. He quickly went into the ice cream parlor and bought some ice cream before starting towards her table. Someone had beaten him there and the guy was talking to her, a persistent look on his face. She wore a somewhat shocked, but also annoyed look on her face. When the obvious annoyance on her face crossed into anger, Fiyero stepped in.

"I'm sorry, I'm not interested." said the girl. Fiyero stopped in his tracks as he heard her voice for the first time. He did not know it was possible for someone's voice to sound like that, it was beautiful.

"C'mon, just give me a shot." the guy said. Fiyero was snapped out of his trance as the guy that was harassing her spoke. His voice sounded like wheels in the mud compared to hers.

"I'm _not_ interested." she said again.

"One date. You can dump me after that--" Fiyero rolled his eyes at this, the guy was pathetic. He set his ice cream down on the table they were at and rested his hand on the girl's thin shoulder.

"Hello darling, did you miss me?" he asked, loud enough for the other guy to hear. The girl looked completely shocked as she stared at him and he thought he detected a hint of fear. She quickly looked down. The other guy glared at him and left, somewhat sulkily and Fiyero took the seat across from the girl.

"Hello." he said after an awkward moment of silence.

"Hello." she said, looking up cautiously at him.

"What's your name?" he asked nervously.

"Elia—Elphaba." she said. Fiyero waited for her to ask his name, but she didn't ask.

"I'm Fiyero." he said. She nodded.

"It's nice to meet you...Fiyero." Elphaba said carefully so she didn't address him as Master.

"I'm sorry about that guy." he said, "I hope you didn't mind me stepping in."

"Oh, that's alright, I didn't think he'd ever leave." she sighed. Another awkward silence fell.

"What're you reading?" he asked.

"Harry Potter." she said.

"Oh, really? I love those books." said Fiyero, smiling at her. It was probably luck that she was reading the only book he had ever actually read and enjoyed. She smiled at him in return and he nearly dropped his ice cream in his lap as her smile made another involuntary shiver run through his spine making his hands shake.

"They're pretty interesting." she consented.

"Yes, they are." said Fiyero, "Do you come here often? To the plaza?"

"No, I come every other Sunday." said Elphaba.

"Yeah?" said Fiyero, "So do I." he said. It wasn't exactly a lie, because _now_ he did come here every other Sunday.

"That's a nice coincidence." said Elphaba. She seemed tense and Fiyero really wanted to get her to relax. He was thinking of something when a little boy about 7 or 8 years old came up to Fiyero and kicked him hard in the shin. The little boy couldn't have been taller than the table. He wore a long sweeping maroon cape over his royal clothes. Fiyero rolled his eyes, if he wore his royal clothes like that, he would look like an almighty fool, but then again, people in the Glikkus did things a bit differently.

"Ow!" said Fiyero, his hand going to his shin to put pressure there to stop the burning, "What was that for?!" The kid ignored him and marched over to Elphaba in a formal, showy fashion so that he was standing right in front of her. Elphaba was laughing. Fiyero would've glared at her if he weren't so enchanted by that beautiful laugh of hers. The boy bowed deeply in front of Elphaba. She smiled at him.

"Good day fair lady, I am Brennet Kirk of Glikkus, 4th in line to the Glikkus throne. I have come to call upon you for I noticed your beauty and intellect and you have entranced me deeply. Will you take upon my request of courting?" he finished with a dramatic kiss to her hand. Elphaba tried not to laugh at the little boy, for he was obviously serious. She wondered if he knew half of the words he was saying. Fiyero was glaring at the little kid which made Elphaba laugh. She tried to stop quickly as the little boy looked rejected. She leaned closer to the little boy and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Brennet, I don't think that would be a very good idea." said Elphaba. Brennet looked down disappointedly.

"But why not?" he asked.

"Because I must be at least twice your age." said Elphaba, "I'm 16, how old are you?"

"8." Brennet sniffled, "But you're really pretty."

"How about that little girl over there?" asked Elphaba pointing to a little girl about Brennet's age with red hair and freckled, she looked sweet and was licking a huge ice cream cone, "She's very pretty."

"Not as pretty as you." Brennet mumbled looking down. Elphaba smiled at him softly and leaned over to whisper something in his ear. Fiyero felt a tinge of jealousy. True, he shouldn't be feeling jealous, after all, this kid was 7, he didn't stand a chance, but still....Fiyero watched until Brennet nodded enthusiastically and leaned forward. Elphaba laughed and gave him a kiss on either cheek. Brennet turned red and quickly hurried off to speak to the red head Elphaba had pointed out. Fiyero looked like he'd just been hit in the face and he was sure he was jealous now. Elphaba looked at him and started laughing.

"Now don't tell me you're jealous." she teased.

"Oh, I don't know if I can compete with _that_." said Fiyero. Elphaba laughed. The tense atmosphere was gone and the two talked as though they'd known each other for ages. They laughed and even shared each other's ice cream. As the sun was setting, Elphaba took her leave. Fiyero was sad to see her go and promised to meet her here in two weeks on Sunday.

*****************

Elphaba hurried back to the royal castle and slipped in unnoticed and changed quickly back into the boy's clothes and sliding on gloves and the cap. She had had the best day of her life. She wanted to tell Nessa everything. And she couldn't wait until her next Sunday off.

Meanwhile Fiyero had wondered dazedly back to his own room. He'd just had the best day of his life. He wanted to talk to Elias about it. And he found himself thinking about the next Sunday he would see Elphaba...


	6. What is This Feeling?

The next day, Fiyero was in the library with Elias, skimming through books and then throwing them haphazardly behind him when he didn't like what he read. Fiyero didn't notice, but behind him, Elphaba was catching the books he flung into the air and returning them to their proper shelves. It actually got a little tiring, especially when Fiyero found several books he didn't like, and threw them _all_ behind him at the same time. Fiyero had just flung another book carelessly behind and extremely high. Elphaba jumped on the couch to catch it.

"I've been thinking..." said Fiyero, not turning around, still skimming the books, oblivious to the trouble he was causing Elias by throwing more books about, "Elias, do you believe in love at first sight?" asked Fiyero, skimming the back of a book, before throwing it carelessly behind him and picking up another.

"Um..." Elias began, running sideways to catch the book, "...I believe in attraction at first sight I suppose, or liking someone, or having a crush, but love? No, I don't believe in love at first sight." said Elias. Fiyero took a moment to ponder this. He was almost certain that when he'd first seen Elphaba, he had fallen in love with her. Or perhaps, maybe he'd just had an instant attraction to her, who knew. But it sure did feel an awful lot like love. Ah! That was his next question.

"And love, what does that feel like?" asked Fiyero, flinging three books behind him before grabbing four more. Elphaba quickly moved to catch them.

"I don't exactly know Master Fiyero, I've never been in love." said Elphaba. She didn't know if she was exactly lying or not. Was what she felt for Fiyero really love? Or was it, as she had put it earlier, a crush, and attraction?

"Well, how do you know when you're in love?" asked Fiyero, "Or if it is a mere attraction as you put it." Fiyero asked the exact question Elphaba had been pondering.

"Well...I suppose if it is a mere attraction, you do not think much of the actual person, only what they look like...I suppose." Elphaba said hesitantly, "I really don't know. Have you ever been in love?"

"I don't think I have been in love before...but I'm not so sure about now." said Fiyero.

"Oh?" said Elphaba, catching a book expertly, "Has someone caught your eye? Or has Miss Galinda finally sparked actual feelings in you?"

"It's not Galinda, no." said Fiyero.

"No? Then you've met someone." said Elphaba, she felt her heart drop. Fiyero had found someone and fallen in love. Ah well, who cared anyway, she didn't stand a chance, she was after all, Elias, Fiyero's _boy_ servant.

"Yes, I have met someone." said Fiyero matter-of-factly, "But I will not say anymore, for I fear this conversation is taking a turn down gossip girl alley." He threw another book behind him, but it went so high, it soared over several of the two story shelves and Elphaba didn't have a hope of catching it. She flung her arms up in exaggerated frustration before just giving up.

"Yes, because grand Master Fiyero most certainly does not want to sound at all girlish." said Elphaba, rolling her eyes. She actually wanted to hear about this girl who had sparked such strong feelings in Fiyero, but no, the subject was to girly for Fiyero. Pssh.

"That, I do not." Fiyero smiled and turned around, his eyes blanked for a moment and a look of confusion spread across his face, "Huh, I thought I threw a bunch of books back here...I suppose I threw them farther than intended, ah well, the librarian will rebook them." Fiyero said before turning and walking out of the library. Elphaba rolled her eyes at his obliviousness and followed after him dutifully.

*************************

Nessarose sat in her room, staring blankly out of the window. She missed her sister. And it was all her fault Elphaba had run away. But was she really to blame? She loved Fredrick, with all her heart, and who knew if she'd ever find someone to love her, the crippled daughter of Governor Thropp? A tear rolled down Nessa's cheek, but no more followed. She didn't brush it away, but felt the soft breeze from the window blow onto the wetness on her cheek, sending shivers through her body. Who knew where Elphaba was now, probably living on the streets. Just the other day, Frex had been informed that he would be going to jail unless he found Elphaba and she willingly told the court that Frex didn't abuse her. Now Nessa was waiting for Fredrick to arrive, to take her to the Emerald City. Once she was gone, she knew Frex would begin his search for Elphaba. Nessa prayed for two opposites. Firstly, she prayed that Frex would find her and bring her home so Nessa could see her again. She wanted to hear Elphaba's voice again and she could almost hear Elphaba singing in her ear. But on the other hand of course, Nessa prayed that Frex didn't find her. This was more risky a prayer though. If Elphaba's was actually in a safe environment and not starving to death on the streets, then she would probably be better off away from Frex. If Frex didn't find her, he'd be thrown in jail, and that would probably be the last Nessa would see of her father. She'd have to come back to Munchkinland and take up the job of governor, even though she was only 15. So it was settled then, she hoped Frex found Elphaba. Oh, she was so selfish. She'd wallow in self-disgust, but she didn't have time for that, Fredrick was here.

"Nessa." said Frex, she heard a soft knock on her door. Frex came in, "Fredrick is here." he said. He took the handles of Nessa's wheel chair and wheeled her outside where Frex was waiting. He suitcases had already been loaded into the carriage. Fredrick quickly leaned down and brought her pale hand to his lips and kissing it softly.

"My dear Nessa." he said, "Are you ready?"

"Yes, yes of course." said Nessa, blushing furiously, her sister forgotten in Fredrick's presence.

"I hope you don't mind if the visit to the Emerald City is delayed a bit." said Fredrick.

"Delayed?" asked Nessa.

"Yes. I have business to attend to in the Vinkus." said Fredrick, "The King and Queen have offered us hospitalities in their castle. Is that alright with you? It will only be a few days."

"That's fine." said Nessa, "I've always wanted to visit the castle." she smiled, "I hear it's amazing."

"I probably won't be around much while we're in the Vinkus. I'll most likely be in meetings a lot. We're meeting my father there. You still want to go?"

"Yes. I'll be fine alone until the Emerald City, don't worry about me." said Nessa. Fredrick smiled.

"Good, because I don't think I could bear it if you chose to stay here." he kissed Nessa full on the lips this time. Frex coughed loudly behind them.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir, I forgot you were standing there." said Fredrick, flushing.

"Right." said Frex, "Goodbye Nessa. Have a safe trip." he hastily kissed Nessa on the forehead and shook Fredrick's hand and bid them a quick goodbye. Their carriage was soon out of sight. Frex sighed, fantastic, now he could start his search for the green-skinned trouble-maker of his before he got himself landed in jail.

***********************

The next day, in the servant's quarters, an announcement was called to order in the kitchens. The old lady wobbled up atop the counter so that she was taller than everyone, though she looked about ready to fall any minute.

"Alright, you all listen!" she clapped her hands together once and silence fell, "We're having some visitors coming within the next few days. They are nobleman Fredrick Valor and the next in line of the Eminent Thropp, Miss Nessarose Thropp." Elphaba froze. Nessa was coming here? Why? She was supposed to be going to the Emerald City. Elphaba was just glad Frex wasn't coming as well.

"Now, I will not have my servants looking as though they can't keep a castle clean, or serve those of higher class with respect. The rooms have been prepared, but we will need one person to tend to Miss Nessarose Thropp while she is here. She is bound to a wheelchair, therefore, I am assigning a servant to assist her while she is here." the old lady continued, "Any maids care to volunteer?" hands immediately shot up in the air. Hauling around a snotty Miss in a wheelchair was better than hauling around a mop and rag. A maid was quickly chosen and the day bore one. Elphaba dreaded the day Nessa came. She did not know if she should be angry at her sister or not. After all, Nessa really didn't owe it to Elphaba to go to Shiz. Elphaba owed Nessa, for taking her ability to walk, it was her fault anyway, or at least that is what she had been told. But still....she couldn't help but feel angry with Nessa, betrayed, upset...like she was nothing to Nessa. Oh well, if Elphaba was nothing to Nessa, then Nessa would be nothing to Elphaba.

***********************

"So, have you heard about our guests?" asked Fiyero as he and Elias played soccer out back behind the grand castle.

"Yes." said Elias, not sounding very please. He expertly stole the ball from Fiyero and scored. Fiyero cursed.

"Nessarose Thropp," said Fiyero, "I heard she was in a wheelchair."

"Yes, she is." said Elias.

"You know her?" asked Fiyero.

"I...worked for her once." was all Elias offered, "And if you ask me, she's a snobby little whiny girl who doesn't give a damn about anyone else and is about the most selfish brat I've ever met!" Elphaba couldn't believe she'd said so many terrible things about her sister. It was like; all of her anger at Nessa had just started pouring out of her. If she'd have said that at home, she'd of been whipped till she was within an inch of her life and then locked upstairs for weeks. She'd never disrespected her sister like that, it was so odd...it kind of felt good. She stole the ball from Fiyero again and kicked it into the goal hard.

"Wow." said Fiyero, "Sounds like a--"

"Oh, she is." said Elias, before Fiyero could even finish his sentence. Fiyero smirked.

"Sounds like you really hate the girl." said Fiyero, "What'd she, break up with you?"

"Never you mind." said Elias roughly, scoring yet another goal.


	7. Found Out

Fredrick carefully pulled Nessarose out of the carriage and placed in her wheelchair. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and smiled at her.

"Here we are, the Vinkus, home the King and Queen of Vinkus and their son, Prince Fiyero." said Fredrick grandly. Nessa looked up the huge castle that loomed above her and her jawed dropped slightly.

"Wow," said Nessa.

"It's pretty big, yeah." said Fredrick. He got behind Nessa and began to push her towards the large front doors, "We'll be here about a week or so, perhaps less, perhaps more, it depends. A maid has been assigned to you to take care of you when I'm not around."

"I wish you'd be around more." Nessa pouted.

"Don't worry. When we get to the Emerald City, I'll be around so much, that you'll wonder why you wanted me around so much in the first place." Fredrick promised, grinning at her.

"Good." Nessa smiled and reached up to kiss him. They shared a sweet kiss and then Fredrick knocked on the large doors. The doors swung open to reveal a stout little doorman. He looked at them and instantly shouted.

"Announcing Master Fredrick Valor and Miss Nessarose Thropp." he shouted. The King and Queen rounded the corner and greeted them. Then Fiyero was seen bounding towards them.

"Sorry I'm late." he breathed, reaching a hand forward to shake Fredrick's. He bent to kiss Nessa's hand and she blushed considerably. Behind Fiyero, Elias was standing in the shadows, waiting for the little greeting to be over with.

"Oh, and that's Elias." said Fiyero as he noticed Nessa peering past him. Elphaba didn't bother saying anything or stepping forward, too afraid that Nessa might recognize her. She offered a small wave of acknowledgement. There was a long awkward moment until a maid came rushing in, offering to show them to their rooms. As soon as the guests and maids had gone, the King turned sharply to Elias.

"You," he growled, "You'd better show our guests more respect. You are a servant, and they are nobility, understood?"

"Yes sir." said Elphaba quickly, terrified of being fired.

"Good." the King said, "And don't even think about quitting. That contract you signed when you signed up for the job states that Fiyero owns you, you can't leave. You're more slave than servant so you'd best start addressing Fiyero formerly. He's not your friend, he is your Master." Fiyero felt his stomach drop. He owned Elias? How could he _own_ his best friend? Is that really what his father did? Trick people into taking jobs, and then later they find out they're actually slaves? Little did Fiyero know, but this might actually come in handy in the future.

"Yes sir, I understand." said Elphaba. She'd never wanted to leave the Vinkus, she'd always wanted to keep this job. But now that she knew she was a slave and could never quit, it just made her _want_ to quit. She'd felt free here, away from Frex, now she just felt like a prisoner all over again. Though this 'job' beat living with Frex any day. The Queen sent Elias a sympathetic look and followed her husband out of the entrance hall. Once they were gone, Fiyero turned slowly back around to face Elias.

"Um...listen." he said, "I don't want you to think I own you or anything. I am your friend Elias. You're my best friend. My father is just an asshole so..."

"It's alright Master Fiyero," said Elias, "You're father was just reminding me of my place."

"No, don't think you're so low---"

"I'm a servant Master Fiyero, just let this matter drop." Fiyero heaved a heavy sigh but consented and didn't speak of the subject anymore.

"So, I don't think Miss Thropp is _that_ bad." said Fiyero, changing the subject.

"Well, I suppose not." said Elphaba, feeling bad about what she'd said about her sister the previous day.

"I thought you hated her." said Fiyero.

"Not really," said Elias, "I was just mad at her for a while, that's all."

"Well, she'll probably be spending a lot of time with us since her boyfriend will be occupied." said Fiyero, "My father left her entertainment up to me."

"Joy." said Elphaba sarcastically.

"I know." said Fiyero, "I figured we could take her into town or something, maybe invite Galinda along too."

"Maybe." said Elphaba. From their last encounter, she didn't think she'd made a great first impression of Miss Galinda.

*****************

The next morning as Elphaba and Fiyero were in the library again, Fiyero doing his random book throwing when he didn't like a book and Elphaba catching and re-shelving the books, Nessa came in, looking like she wanted something. Elphaba knew from experience that when Nessa wanted something, she didn't stop until she got it.

"Oh, hello Miss Nessarose." said Fiyero.

"Please, call me Nessa." she said, "I was wondering if there is a church nearby I could attend that you would escort me to? I've gone to church at least once a week since I was born and I don't want to end that streak now."

"Religious much?" Fiyero smirked to Elias so that Nessa didn't hear, then he turned back to Nessa and smiled falsely, "Certainly," he said, "We could go right now if you wish, services start in 10 minutes. If we leave now, we can make it. You don't mind if Elias comes too do you?"

"I don't mind." said Nessa.

*******************

Elphaba sat next to Nessarose at the church, fidgeting and glancing at Nessa every so often. Nessa was absorbed in the sermon and didn't pay a lick of attention to the boy sitting next to her. Fiyero sat on Nessa's other side, looking bored out of his mind. He made hand motions over Nessa's head as a joke and made Elias have to turn away to keep from laughing. When the service ended, Nessa wheeled up to the Preacher to talk about his sermon.

"Oh that was just wonderful sir." she gushed.

"Why thank you." said the man, smiling at her. Then he looked at Elias.

"Young man, I do hope you realize it is extremely rude to wear hats during church." he said sternly, "Those gloves seem inappropriate too."

"He has to wear those things, for religious reasons." said Fiyero.

"And what may this religion be?" asked the preacher, raising an eyebrow, "I've never heard of that one."

"Um..." Elphaba stalled, "It's...uh...against my religion to tell you what my religion is."

"Well then how is your religion passed on? Surely you are not the only one holding this 'religion'." The preacher said.

"Um...we're born with it." said Elphaba, mentally kicking herself. _Born_ with it?

"Excuse me?"

"Um, you see we have been uh.... (What's that one religious sounding word that Nessa always using when she things something good has happened?)..._blessed ... _(Yes, that's it)....with this uh, power to uh...believe." said Elias, lying badly.

"So you're saying that certain individuals are blessed with the 'power' to believe when they are born?"

"Yes, by the uh...._Named_ God." Elphaba nodded.

"The Named God?" The preacher raised both eyebrows. Fiyero tried not to laugh and Nessa's face was growing red.

"Yes, our god has a name."

"And what may this name be?"

"Um...." Elphaba thought, and she said the first word that came into her head, "The Almighty...Bob."

"Bob?"

"Bob."

"_Bob_?"

"Bob."

"_Bob_?"

"It's Bob alright?!"

"Such a peculiar religion, I'll have to look into that." said the preacher thoughtfully, no hint of joking in his tone or expression. Wow, he was gullible.

"You can't do that because Bob has not blessed you." said Elias, deciding to have his fun with the puzzled preacher.

"I think I'll manage without Bob's blessing." the preacher snapped. In truth, he felt a little left out, he knew about all religions, but yet this Named God, Bob had not blessed him. Ah well, he felt secure enough to think that the Unnamed God had blessed him enough.

"Um, excuse us sir, but we should be going." said Fiyero, taking Nessa's chair and began to turn her towards the door.

"Yes, have a good day." said the preacher absentmindedly, his brow still crinkled while thinking about this troubling new God he'd never heard of..._Bob_.

****************

The next day, Fiyero had taken Nessa to the courtyards for a picnic, and of course, Elias had come along.

"I don't know how ever to thank you Fiyero...and you too Elias. If it weren't for you I'd probably die of boredom. Dear Fredrick is in those meetings and conferences all the time." said Nessa.

"It's been my pleasure." said Fiyero charmingly, "So, what's it like, be the in line for the Eminent Thropp Descending or whatever it's called."

"Well, actually I'm not next in line, my sister is." said Nessa carefully, she been avoiding thoughts of her sister for a while now. Elias seemed to choke on something. Fiyero rolled his eyes and ignored him.

"You have a sister?" Fiyero asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, she's a bit peculiar, and a lot of people don't like her because they think she's ugly, but I think she's actually rather pretty," Nessa confessed, "just a bit...peculiar."

"Peculiar?" asked Fiyero.

"You wouldn't believe me." Nessa said.

"Well, what's her name?" asked Fiyero.

"Elphaba." said Nessa.

"Oh, I know a girl named Elphaba." said Fiyero.

"Well, it can't be my sister. Elphaba ran away from home a few weeks ago...." Nessa chocked out the last few words before bursting into tears, "And I—I think it's all my fault!" she cried. Fiyero stared at her for a moment before swiftly moving to her side to rub comforting circles on her back. Elphaba stared at her sister for what seemed like an eternity. Nessa was sorry? Was she _truly_ sorry?

"It's ok Ness. It's not your fault your sister ran away." said Fiyero, trying to soothe the crying girl.

"Yes it is." Nessa sobbed, "I feel so horrible! She asked me if I would—would do something for her and I-I said n-no, even though she's done so much for me. I just couldn't do this one thing for her and she...she yelled at me and I she cried, and my sister's never cried before. Then she just ran out the house. I didn't know where she'd gone, I was going to apologize the next day, but she was gone..."

"What did she ask of you?" asked Fiyero.

"Well, Fredrick was going to take me to the Emerald City this year, and I wanted to go with him. But my sister wanted to go to Shiz University and she can't go unless I go because my father will only send her if only to care of me. She asked if I would go to Shiz...for her and I said no because I wanted to be with Fredrick." said Nessa.

"Well...it's not really your fault." said Fiyero hesitantly, "I mean, your sister didn't have to run away."

"I would've run away." said Nessa quietly.

"What's so bad about living in a great big mansion and having servants wait on you hand and foot?" asked Fiyero.

"You wouldn't understand." said Nessa, looking at her shoes.

"Well Nessa, I don't think you should carry around such guilt. It's not your fault your sister ran away." said Fiyero soothingly.

"Thanks." said Nessa, "For...you know."

"Anytime." Fiyero nodded.

"I think I'm going to go back inside now and read." said Nessa, "I need to be alone for a bit." She wheeled herself back towards the castle doors. Once she was inside, Fiyero turned to Elias.

"Poor little thing." said Fiyero, "You can call her what you want, but I think she's just sad about her sister."

"Sure, I don't think she cares at all about her sister." Elias scoffed, not at all moved by Nessa's little break down. Elphaba remembered Nessa having had tons of those 'break downs' where she cried her little eyes out over something like a fight with friends, she would be fine in 20 minutes and forget about it completely.

"Or maybe it's her wretched sister who doesn't care about _her_." said Fiyero, "I mean, I'm pretty sure Nessa loves Fredrick. And I know he loves her, I mean, he's taking her to the _Emerald City_. Her sister could've been a bit more supportive. She's making her little sister feel so guilty, running away like that, how selfish." Elphaba felt her blood boil and her temper flare. Selfish?! Her? And what was all this sympathy for Nessa?

"You don't know everything I-_She's_ been through!" Elphaba shouted, "Nessa doesn't feel guilty, she's just angry she won't have her sister there to be her personal slave all of the time. Her whole life has been about damn Nessa and you know, maybe she just couldn't take it anymore! And I will tell you that I-_SHE _could not stay in that house with Frex any longer!" Elphaba fell silent as she glared at Fiyero. She suddenly realized that she'd just yelled at the Prince, if any found out, she could get 5 lashes.

"I-I'm sorry." said Elias quickly, taking a step back from Fiyero, "I didn't mean to yell, please forgive me."

"I...forgive you." said Fiyero, "Don't worry about it Elias."

"I'm sorry." he said again, and then bolted inside, leaving Fiyero standing there, confused and thoughtful.

*******************

The next day, Galinda had come over to the castle, and the four of them had gone to town, Fiyero, Galinda, Nessa and Elias. Elias pushed Nessa along in the wheelchair and Fiyero and Galinda walked next to each other, holding hands, though Fiyero looked somewhat reluctant. Galinda was being extra nice to Elias, last time's encounter wasn't exactly...pleasant. Galinda and Nessa seemed to get along pretty well.

"Ooh, Fiyero!" Galinda said all of a sudden, "Look, a picture booth!" she pointed to a couple getting their pictures taken in front of the beach.

"Oh, that's so cheesy Glin, you don't really want to get out pictures taken, do you?" Fiyero complained, as all males would.

"Fiyero, you should know by now that the cheesy stuff is what I adore!" Galinda squealed, "Now c'mon!" She grabbed a hold of Fiyero shirt and yanked him forward with strength nobody knew she had. It was like watched a kitten pick up a building.

"Whoa!" said Fiyero in surprise and he nearly fell over. Galinda giggled and patted him on the head before tugging him over to the picture booth.

"We'll be right back." Fiyero said quickly, "Galinda wants to get our pictures taken." he muttered. This left Nessa and Elias alone. There was an awkward silence.

"Um, Elias, could you fix my shoe, it looks like it's slipping." said Nessa. Elias nodded and kneeled before Nessa to fix her shoe. As Elphaba began to fix the shoe, her glove slid down a bit and her sleeve slid up, revealing about an inch of green skin. Nessa gasped. Elphaba looked up and realized her mistake before it was too late. She rushed to cover up the exposed skin, but it was no use now, Nessa had already seen.

"Elphaba?!" she asked incredulously.

"No, it's me, Elias." said Elphaba.

"No, it's you, Elphaba, I know it!" Nessa said, "What are you doing dressed up as a boy servant? Do you know what shame this will bring to our family? What your running away has already brought?"

"Well, I wasn't exactly going to stay with Frex now was I?!" Elphaba snapped in her regular voice. Nessa sighed, she'd missed that voice.

"So it is you!" Nessa exclaimed, "Why did you run away? You could've gone to Shiz _next_ year!"

"Don't act like you don't know why I ran away." Elphaba hissed, "You would've run away too if you could, I know you would, I heard you say it, unless that was just another of your lies."

"How could you leave me like that though Elphaba? How could you be so selfish? Did you even think of me? Do you know how guilty and terrible I've been feeling?" Nessa said, changing tactics.

"Excuse me?!" Elphaba yelled, she was not going to be called selfish again, and certainly not by Nessa, that little brat, "You're calling _me_ selfish?! You've got to be kidding me. My whole life has been about you Nessa, and you're ungrateful for it all. Elphaba this, Elphaba that, I did everything you've ever asked of me and more. I've _always_ put you before myself, so don't tell me that I don't even think about you. And about all this supposed 'guilt' that you're feeling, that's not guilt, your just whining that I won't be there to do everything for you and take all of your crap." Nessa felt her heart constrict but she would not prove Elphaba's words true, nor though could she deny them. So she ignored them and instead of apologizing as she should have, she became angry.

"Guess who came to our house once you left Elphaba," Nessa said, suddenly angry now, "Guess who. It was the child protection agency or whatever they call themselves. Someone told that father has been abusing you."

"What do I care?!" said Elphaba, "That's another reason I ran away, if I'd have been there when he got this news, I would be no better than dead by now."

"Father is looking for you. And I might just tell him exactly where you are!" Nessa threatened, her eyes flashing with anger at her sister. Elphaba's angry tone suddenly turned desperate and she grabbed Nessa's hand.

"You wouldn't! Please Nessa, I beg of you, please don't tell him where I am!" Elphaba pleaded.

"I think I will Elphaba! He's going to go to jail if he can't find you, and then where will that leave me?" Nessa shouted.

"Please....please Nessa!" Elphaba said, a tear streaked down her face, but Nessa didn't see because of the cap Elphaba wore.

"I'm going to tell him!" Nessa yelled.

"No!" Elphaba cried, "Don't! Please, I'll do anything!"

"Then come back!"

"I _can't_!" Elphaba stood up and shoved Nessa's hand away and ran. Nessa watched her sister run, and suddenly felt terrible. How could she have said such things to her sister? But if she didn't tell Frex where Elphaba was and he didn't find her, he'd go to jail and would be stripped of his title of Governor. What would happen to Nessa then? If she told Frex, then he _wouldn't_ go to jail and everything would be fine...well, sort of. She'd have Elphaba back, and could listen to her voice and enjoy her amazing cooking. She would have someone to tell all of her problems too and lace up her boots and help her prepare for dates. Nessa thoughts were stopped short as she felt a rough hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Fiyero glaring at her.

"What did you say to him?!" he asked.

"Him?" asked Nessa, before realizing he was talking about Elphaba.

"You must have said something to him." Fiyero said. Nessa didn't say anything. He turned to Galinda.

"You stay here with her, I'll be right back." he said. Fiyero quickly ran after Elias.

****************

About an hour later, Fiyero trudged back to where he'd left Nessa and Galinda. The two were inside of the bookshop. He walked in.

"I could find him." said Fiyero, "He's gone." he turned to glare at Nessa, "I'm going to ask you once more, what did you say to him?"

"Nothing!" Nessa cried.

"I don't believe you." Fiyero said, "But I guess you'll never tell me, so forget it. C'mon, we're going back to the castle."


	8. Forgive Me?

Elphaba dropped to her knees once she'd reached the forest. She breathed heavily and tried to still her racing heart as her situation settled upon her. How could Nessa be so...so selfish?! Elphaba had done everything for Nessa. She'd only put up with Frex for all of those years because she cared for _Nessa_. She cared for Nessa. She did, she loved her sister, but Nessa did not love her. Nessa would not, nor would she ever care at all for Elphaba. Elphaba soon realized that she was to her sister, property like she was to her father, like she was to the Vinkun Family. She couldn't stay in the Vinkus anymore, not now that Nessa was going to turn her in. And now that she was a slave, she couldn't very well run away either. But she had too. She'd be even more wanted now. Elphaba looked up and realized it was dark, how long had she been in the forest? Even though it would be a risk, she had to go back to the castle to retrieve her things. Everything she owned was there. Her mother's bottle, clothes, a bit of money, her journal, a few pictures... She stood back to her feet shakily, breathing in jagged breaths as she shook back her tears. She took a deep breath, and began to run again. She ducked under branches and jumped over roots as she ran. It was dark; she didn't seem to even see the branches or roots. She felt as though she had memorized the woods, and she just knew which roots to jump over and which branches to duck under. She ran on adrenaline and anger and sadness and fear. Before she knew it, the castle was coming into view. She slowed her running and snuck in through the back door.

************

No one said a word as they trudged back to the castle. Nessa had tears pouring down her face, silently. She stared ahead and only sniffled when she had to. Galinda kept a comforting on Nessa's shaking shoulders. Fiyero kept a stone face as he stared straight ahead. Fiyero didn't know why the silly girl in the wheelchair was crying, probably because he'd yelled at her. He didn't feel guilty or sorry for her at all right now, but he figured later on his anger might cool down, and he _might_ be sorry for yelling at Nessa. Losing Elias was like losing his best friend. In fact, it _was_ losing his best friend.

As they opened the doors to the castle, they were met by a jovial Fredrick. He rushed at Nessa and hugged her, not seeming to notice they crowds mood and Nessa's tears.

"Nessa my darling, business is done here. We can go to the Emerald City tomorrow!" said ecstatic Fredrick. Nessa cursed Elphaba for making her sad. She wanted to be happy when Fredrick told her he was done with meetings. But no, she was sad, and she couldn't just pop up and be happy all of sudden, although she really wanted to laugh and smile and be happy with Fredrick and stay up all night, thinking about the Emerald City. All she could do was cry harder and out loud now that she couldn't be happy at this moment.

"Nessa?" said Fredrick, pulling back from the hug to look at Nessa's face, tear streaked and distressed.

"I-I'm sorry," said Nessa, "I'm fine." she sniffled and wiped at her face. Fredrick of course was not convinced. He stood up and glared at Fiyero.

"What did you do to her?!" he yelled.

"Nothing," said Fiyero, "It was her that stared everything in the first place!"

"Fiyero, calm down." said Galinda, tugging on Fiyero's arm.

"Look, you did something to her, and I want to know what!" Fredrick yelled.

"Sure, as soon as she tells me what she said to Elias!" Fiyero bellowed.

"Elias? Who the hell is Elias? This is about Nessa!" Fredrick yelled.

"Not _everything_ is about Nessa!" Fiyero yelled, "Elias is my friend. He's missing since your little _angel_ said something to him, I don't know what happened, because she won't tell me!"

"Nessa would never say anything hateful." said Fredrick, his face growing red.

"Well, fine, I don't know what her blasted problem is," Fiyero said, "All I know is that I'm bloody happy you're leaving tomorrow!" with that, Fiyero stormed away, leaving a red faced Fredrick, a tearful Nessa and a confused Galinda in the hall.

"Nessa, I want you to tell me what Fiyero did that made you cry." said Fredrick, leaning once again on his knee to meet Nessa's eyes.

"He didn't do anything," Nessa sighed, "It's my entire fault really. I-I need to go now, I'll just be in my room." Nessa quickly began to wheel herself away.

******************

All Nessa could think about was wishing that none of this had ever happened. She almost wished that she'd said yes in the beginning and gone to Shiz, but how could she wish that when Fredrick was so wonderful? Was she really being fair? She felt so horrible choosing Fredrick, a man she'd known for about a month or two over her sister, who she took advantage of and known her entire life. She wished she'd never had guessed that 'Elias' was really her sister, and that she'd never threatened to tell her whereabouts. She wished Elphaba would come back, just for a moment, so that she could apologize, or at least get Elphaba to change her mind. She wanted to let her know that she could still stay here and Nessa wouldn't tell their father where she was. Suddenly, Nessa remembered something. Surely her sister would be coming back, if only to get her belongings. Nessa remembered that Elphaba would never leave her only memory of her mother, the little glass green bottle. After Elphaba had run away from home, Nessa had gone up to her room and found her sister's belonging gone and the glass bottle gone. Elphaba would be coming back, she would. Nessa quickly got out a pen and paper and wrote a note.

When she was finished, she called for the maid.

"Take this to Elias's room and put it someplace where he'll immediately see it." Nessa ordered, "And don't you dare think of reading it." Nessa warned as an afterthought. The maid nodded and scurried out of the room. Nessa could only hope that she hadn't already missed Elphaba.

***************

The castle was dark, as everyone was sleeping, even the servants who were usually up till the crack of dawn. Elphaba ran lightly through the dark hallways in the servants chambers. It seemed no one had noticed she'd gone, except of course, Fiyero, Nessa and Galinda. She opened the door as slowly as she could, it creaked despite her efforts to evade sound. She opened it just enough to slip in. She grabbed her satchel and began to fill it with her clothes and everything she'd need. Lastly, she grabbed her mother's bottle. She was about to leave, when a piece of paper came into her peripheral vision. She turned to pick it up. It wasn't hard to figure out who it was from, Nessa's handwriting was something Elphaba knew well.

_Dearest Sister, Elphaba,_

_I don't know what to say. And I know that half of what I write in this letter, you shall not believe. But believe me now, when I tell you that I will not tell Father you are here. I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am. I know the word sorry is extremely overused and taken advantage of, but I am truly sorry to you, for everything. I don't expect you could ever forgive me for the cruelty in which I have treated you, but if you ever did chose to forgive me, I would not take it for granted. I wish I could be speaking to you now, in person, but I doubt you'd wish to speak with me face to face. You probably resent even reading this letter, and I would not blame you. Elphaba, you are my sister, and I love you. I wish you could think of me as a sister, or a friend, even an acquaintance would make me happy. You must hate me terribly now, and usually I would say it was against the Unnamed God to hate, but I think you have good enough reason to hate now, though I wish you wouldn't. _

_Please don't leave the Vinkus. I think Fiyero would really miss you. And while I don't quite understand your relationship with him, I can tell he views you as an important person in his life, a very good friend. And while I don't know much about Fiyero, I think you might be his first and only good friend. I've come to care about Fiyero in the few days I've spent with him, and I think he deserves a friend like you. _

_Tomorrow Fredrick and I are leaving for the Vinkus. He's finished his business and meetings here. You are welcome to come with Fredrick and I to the Emerald City. The King is giving Fredrick some of the servants to wait on us in the Emerald City since his own servants are at his mansion in Munchkinland. Fredrick could ask for you and you would be free and live with us if you like. But of course, I can understand if you wish to stay here. I wish you well, and as much happiness is as possible for someone in your position. Remember I love you._

_Nessa_

Elphaba wanted to believe everything Nessa had written in that letter. True, she believed some of it, but the sentimental parts, she could not bring herself to fall for those lies so easily. Nessa had never told her she loved her before. Elphaba read the end again. She had a choice, to go with Nessa and Fredrick to the Emerald City, and be free. But she did not want to be with Nessa again, she would not face her. But was Nessa really the only thing that pushed Elphaba away from leaving, or was it Fiyero that held her back? She could probably live with being a slave. After all, the word was used loosely. She got days off, and good enough food and shelter. She was not technically being held her against her will, though if she ever chose to leave she wouldn't be able to. The work was not even hard, unless one considers following a prince around breaking a sweat. And as much as Elphaba hated to admit it, she didn't want to leave Fiyero. She didn't care that Fiyero thought she was a boy. She didn't care that she was Fiyero's servant. She just wanted to be with him, even if it meant staying in the Vinkus, a servant, rather than being waited on with Nessa and Fredrick.

***********************

Fiyero woke the next morning to find a tray of food at the end of his bed, he must hav missed breakfast. He drowsily sat up and ran his hands over his face to wake himself up more.

"Ah, you're awake. Did you want cream in your coffee?" , asked a familiar voice. Fiyero's head snapped up at the voice and he looked to his left to see Elias at his desk, pouring him a cup of coffee.

"Elias!" Fiyero exclaimed, "I thought you'd gone!"

"No," said Elias, "Just uh, got a bit...I needed to leave for a bit. I hope you'll forgive me for running off on you lot. Sorry you had to push Nessa, I should have been there to do that."

"Oh, that's alright, I needed the workout anyway." Fiyero joked. He was really glad Elias hadn't left for good, "Elias, what did Nessa say to you yesterday?"

"Nothing that you should be bothered with." said Elphaba.

"I want to know." said Fiyero.

"I _don't_ want to tell you." said Elphaba more firmly.

"You know, I could order you tell me," said Fiyero lightly, "But I am not some tyrannical prince that throws a fit every time he doesn't get what he asks for; I am not my father. So I shall respect your privacy and let you be."

"That is most humble of you." Elias commented.

"No, just common courtesy." Fiyero said, shrugging his shoulders, even though he was itching to know what had gone down between Elias and that brat of a girl Nessa. Speaking of Nessa...., "So, Nessa and Fredrick are leaving today."

"I've heard."

"I've got to go wish them a jolly farewell," Fiyero smirked. He suddenly looked up at the clock, "Oh shit! We're late. Let's go."

**************

Fiyero ran down through the halls, Elphaba behind him. They reached the entrance hall quickly, but they were still late.

"Sorry I'm late." Fiyero apologized insincerely.

"Mph." his father replied gruffly. Nessa and Fredrick were by the door, posed ready to leave. Nessa's heart rate quickened as she saw 'Elias' behind Fiyero. Elphaba noticed Nessa staring at her. She looked at Nessa and nodded slightly, acknowledging that she'd gotten the letter. Nessa felt her heart deflate. So Elphaba had not forgiven her most likely. Fiyero walked up and gave Nessa a farewell hug. Elphaba remained in the background of the scene, looking away from her sister. Sister stared at her sister, trying to get her sister to meet her eyes, but she wouldn't. Soon, Nessa dropped her gaze and her eyes watered, but she did not cry.

"Thank you for your hospitality." said Fredrick, shaking his hands with the King, and kissing the Queens hand. Nessa thanked them as well, and then Fredrick was pushing out the door into the sunlight. Nessa cursed the bright happy sun for shining when she needed weather to match her mood. How could she feel better than sad when she had to be separated by her sister again, her sister who now hated her? Nessa sighed; did Fredrick really hold enough of her heart, to dull the pain of losing Elphaba? Was Fredrick wonderful enough to take the place of her lover and best friend? Did Nessa love him that much? She loved him enough to choose him. Some say love makes us better people, now it seemed loved just made us bastards.

****************

"As odd as this must sound, I might miss her." said Fiyero as he and Elias watched Fredrick and Nessa's carriage round the corner.

"Me too." Elphaba said.


	9. Routines and Friendships

After Nessa had left, things went back to normal. Occasionally Fiyero, Galinda, and 'Elias' would go to town together. Elphaba wondered if Galinda thought it was weird that Fiyero's servant accompanied them on dates, Elphaba herself wondered why Fiyero asked her to come every time. Galinda had gotten used to Elias's presence though and so the dates became rather outings for three friends.

"Today is Sunday." said Fiyero that Sunday.

"I didn't notice." Elphaba said sarcastically. Fiyero grinned.

"I mean today is Sunday, and I'll be out today. Today's your day off, so you don't have to follow me around." said Fiyero. In truth he didn't Elias there when he saw Elphaba again. He hoped she'd be there.

"Alright," said Elphaba, "I'll just be going now, you have fun...wherever you're going."

"The Plaza actually." said Fiyero. The Plaza! Oh, so that's why Fiyero was acting so weird about it being Sunday. She had said she'd be there the last time didn't she? How could she have forgotten? She'd been looking forward to her next Sunday off for a long time, Nessa must've distracted her.

"Well, like I said, you have fun." said Elphaba, before leaving the room quickly.

*************

Back at the Plaza, Elphaba almost immediately saw Fiyero. He was just coming out of a book store a book in hand. He seemed to skim the crowd for someone. Elphaba sucked in a breath as she approached him. She tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He whirled around and his face lit up.

"Looking for someone?" she asked.

"Not anymore." said Fiyero, "So, how have you been?"

"I've been fine." she said, "How about yourself?"

"You know the usual." said Fiyero, shrugging as he found his throat clog up with nervousness and his heartbeat quicken. A comfortable silence rested upon them, until Fiyero remembered the book in his hand.

"I—I um, I got you a present. It's the next Harry Potter book," he said, "I saw you reading the first one the last time we met."

"Thank you." said Elphaba, accepting the book. The gesture was so kind and so new to her that she was overwhelmed. Nobody besides Nessa ever got her gifts. And now Fiyero, whom she was a stranger to, was standing before her, giving her a gift, it made her feel wonderful and warm inside. Fiyero smiled at her as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you want to head down to the beach?" asked Fiyero. "It's just behind the shops."

"Alright." Elphaba agreed. They began to walk towards the beach. Elphaba looked around her and was happy no one was staring. Here, nobody really cared about her green skin. She kept looking until she realized there was a variety of different skin colors, brown, yellow, white, red/brown, black. Munchkinland had never been this integrated. But here.....what was another color? And who cared that it was green? Elphaba's thoughts and musings were interrupted by a soft hand that held hers. She looked to the side and saw Fiyero smiling sheepishly at her. She looked down at their hands, and she felt a small smile creep onto her face. Fiyero noticed and his heart raced and his skin felt like it was on fire, but not a burning fire, a wonderful tickling fire. Elphaba raised an eyebrow at him and he realized he was taking very loud deep breaths of nervousness.

"Oh sorry, I uh..." Fiyero didn't know what to say. Elphaba laughed at him, he laughed too and after that, conversation quickly found its way naturally.

"My friend Elias, he believes in a god named Bob."

"Bob?"

"Bob."

"_Bob_?"

"It's Bob alright?!" Fiyero laughed.

"Well, I suppose that's not so different. I believe in a god named Fred." Elphaba ginned.

************

The sun was beginning to set. Colorful streaks of purples and oranges and pinks beamed across the sky. Elphaba and Fiyero were walking in the very shallow part of the ocean, not even two feet, their shoes in their free hand and their other hand in the others grasp. They hadn't let go of hands yet. As they walked, they talked and laughed and enjoyed the others company. Suddenly, a jogger who was jogging by tripped and skidded to a stop before falling. Water splashed all over Fiyero. The jogger apologized and jogged away. Fiyero stood there until Elphaba started laughing at him. He rolled his eyes and leaned down as though to splash water on her. She noticed and quickly let go of his hand before running down the beach, splashing water behind at him as she went. Fiyero grinned and ran after her. He caught up to her and pulled her into his arms. She laughed and pretended to try to get away, but Fiyero knew better. Suddenly, they lost their footing and they both fell into the shallow water, still laughing.

"Now look what you've done. You've gotten me all wet." Elphaba pretended to scold him.

"That makes two of us." Fiyero smirked. He looked down and realized their hands were interwoven again. He smiled, they hadn't even realized they'd reached out to hold the others hand. But suddenly, they were.

"I just can't let go of this hand of yours." Fiyero said. Elphaba blushed and began to stand up, pulling him with her. They began to walk back down the beach together in the shoreline, she leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked. They came to a cluster of giant rocks at the end of the shore where the mountain started. They climbed on top of the biggest rock and sat together, gazing at the ocean. The waves beat against the front of the rock in almost a rhythmic sequence. Beads of water rolled down their skin and their clothes and hair dried as time passed. Before long, they were nearly completely dry. Elphaba's hair was blowing in the wind and suddenly Fiyero was hit with how beautiful she was. Her hair swirled around her almost magically. Her skin seemed to glow in the soft light. And her eyes, oh they were beautiful. The many different colors of the sunset seemed to set in her eyes and they sparkled.

"You have beautiful eyes you know." said Fiyero, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She blushed. Suddenly, he found himself leaning forward. Her eyes closed almost on instinct and she leaned forward only the slightest bit. Then their lips met in what would've shattered the Earth. The ocean seemed to crash harder against the rock, sending water over the side. The sun seemed to glow brighter all of a sudden and fireworks went off in their minds. When they parted, they were both panting slightly and looking dazed and confused, wonderful and excited, scared and frightened all at the same time.

"I—that shouldn't have happened--" Elphaba began, "Y-you're in a relationship with someone else--"

"It's over, I'll end it, it doesn't matter." said Fiyero, grabbing her other hand, "Don't tell me you don't want this."

"I do, it's just..." Elphaba didn't know what to do. Would a relationship with Fiyero ruin everything? She'd have to be more cautious, but love. She'd never felt that before. It felt wonderful, and nothing was worth giving it up.

"Just what?" asked Fiyero, "Elphaba, everything will be fine. What are you so worried about?"

"Nothing," said Elphaba, looking away. Everything.

"Then what's the problem?" asked Fiyero.

"I—I have to go." Elphaba said and quickly left.

**************

Fiyero stood in the grand Upland entrance hall as he waited for Galinda to come down. She bounced down in a puff of pink fabric and curls. She bounced up to kiss him. She felt him tense and she pulled back to examine his face.

"Something wrong?" she asked, "You seem like something's wrong."

"I wouldn't call it wrong. I'd call it realizations, a final understanding if you will." said Fiyero, stepping back, "Listen Glin, you don't love me."

"Yes I d--" Galinda began.

"No, you don't. You think you love me. Because love is what everyone wants, so everyone is ready to say yes to the first person they think might love them back. People are _so_ ready to jump into that...feeling; they forget what they were jumping for to begin with. You don't love me. Glin, we're not in love with one another, don't you see this is just a friendship anyhow?"

"No, it's more than a friendship," Galinda argued, "It's love."

"No, it's not." Fiyero said, "Galinda, I'm in love, but not with you. I know what love feels like now, and this isn't it. You're not in and I'm not. It's simple as that."

"What are you talking about Fiyero? Of course I'm in love with you." Galinda said, "Besides, how could you that I'm not in love with you, you're not me, you couldn't know what I feel."

"Galinda, on almost the first date, you said you loved me. Those words are supposed to mean something, we don't say them like they mean something. The way we say them, it's as though we're just saying 'hello'." said Fiyero.

"Well, that's our way of saying hello." said Galinda.

"Well, it shouldn't be," said Fiyero, "How many dates have we been on where we've had nothing to say to one another? How many times have we just sat there, feeling awkward as ever. We thought we were in love, so that things would work out in the end anyhow. Glin, we're not in love, and it's time we realized that. I've spent this relationship wishing something would happen that would _prove_ that I'm in love with you. Nothing's happened, and it's not ever going to. I wanted this to work out, but it's like running a circle. We can run the whole way around, but it just leads back to where we started."

"I really thought I loved you." Galinda admitted, "But now that you mention it....I'm not so sure."

"And I thought I loved you," Fiyero said, "It just took me a while to figure out that I didn't."

"We can still be friends though...." said Galinda, "Right?"

"Of course. There's not much to change in our relationship anyway." said Fiyero, "We can still go on those outings together if you want."

"Oh good," said Galinda, "Elias will still come then too?"

"Yeah." said Fiyero, a bit surprised Galinda was asking about Elias. In truth, Galinda had actually grown to like Elias. Of course she didn't think of him in any romantic, but he was good company, a nice friend if Galinda could even consider him that.

"Well, in that case," Galinda said, "I now dub thee, Fiyero Tiggular, my official _friend_."

***************

"I broke up with Galinda." said Fiyero to Elias the next day.

"Why is that?" Elphaba asked, pretending not to know.

"I've found someone else." said Fiyero.

"Who is it?" asked Elias.

"Her name is Elphaba, she's the most beautiful girl you've ever seen. And I'm not just saying that because I love her." said Fiyero. Elphaba almost choked when he said that word.

"How did Galinda take the break up?" asked Elphaba.

"She's on the same level of understanding on that. She knew we didn't love each other. But we're still going to be friends. I think she was mostly scared about the ending of our relationship because she thought it would stop her friendship with you." Fiyero smirked.

"I thought she hated me." said Elphaba.

"I suppose not." said Fiyero.

************

And so began the friendship of Galinda, Fiyero and Elias (Elphaba). They went to town together nearly every day, talking and laughing as friends did. It was easy to forget that Elias was a servant and with each day they got closer. And as Galinda, Fiyero and Elias became closer, so did Fiyero and Elphaba. The servants days off had changed to every Sunday for some and every Saturday for others, that way servants got more time off and taking shifts was better anyway. Elphaba was on the Sunday's off crew so now she saw Fiyero every Sunday. Well, she saw Fiyero as _herself_ every Sunday.

It became a routine. Every Sunday, Fiyero and Elphaba would meet at the beach and each Sunday, Fiyero gave her a different book. They would sit on their rock at the edge of the ocean and the base of the mountain and Elphaba would read the book. Fiyero would either watch her read or he would read over her shoulder. When Elphaba had either finished the book (she was a really fast reader, which is why Fiyero usually just watched her read, he could never keep up) or decided she was done reading, they would walk along the shore, or go to the ice cream parlor. The dates always ended when Elphaba said she had to leave and so now Fiyero knew that when the sunset was almost over, she'd leave, but he wished for more time with her. Longer Sunday's, that's what he wanted.

****************

Frex paced around his hotel room. He was in the Gillikin, looking for that damn daughter of his, but she wasn't here. He would've hung wanted signs, but if people found out his daughter had run away, what would they think of him as a governor? His time was running thin though, his two months were almost up. He was not going to go to jail, nor step down from his place as governor. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. He swung open the door.

"What?!" he yelled.

"Letter for you sir." said the concierge, not even flinching. He was probably used to nasty greetings by guests of the hotel. Frex read the letter, it was from the King of Vinkus. There was to be a meeting in the Vinkus, negotiations needed to be taken into order between Munchkinland and the Vinkus. He'd forgotten all about that. Agh! Well, he couldn't very well _not_ go, this was an important meeting, but this would cut into three days he could be searching for Elphaba. But if he didn't go, he'd probably get impeached or something. He slammed his fist into the wall and began packing his things again, ready for the Vinkus. He knew for a fact Elphaba wasn't in the Vinkus, his Nessa had sent him a letter earlier saying she and Fredrick had looked there, but hadn't found her. Damn, he could be in Quadling country looking for her, but no, he had to attend stupid meetings in the Vinkus!


	10. Frex

For once in her life, she was genuinely happy. She'd never been so happy in her life. The circumstances might have been unusual, but still....she was truly happy. She and Galinda were good friends and she and Fiyero were best friends. Well, technically Elias and Fiyero were best friends, but so what. And the cherry on top, she was in love. And it wasn't just one-sided, she was in love with someone who actually loved her back. Her heart rate seemed to be at top speed and laughter came naturally to her.

"Hey Elias," said Galinda the next day as Fiyero and Elias greeted her at the door.

"Hi Galinda." said Elphaba, smiling, though nobody could see, she actually liked the blonde somewhat now.

"And just forget me." Fiyero said, though he was smiling.

"Oh, Fifi, I didn't _forget_ about you," said Galinda, "I just wasn't acknowledging your presence."

"Gee, that makes me feel so much better." said Fiyero.

*****************

The three friends strode through town. Galinda dragged Fiyero and Elias with her into all of the shops.

"Oh my Oz," said Galinda, "Tell me this doesn't look absolutely gorgeous on me." she stepped out of the dressing rooms. Fiyero and Elias who had been sitting on the benches outside of the dressing room, didn't even look up.

"You look great." they said automatically. The first part of their daily outings was always spent shopping because it was just the way Galinda was.

"You guys didn't even look at me." said Galinda, putting her hands on her hips

"Do we ever?" asked Elias. Galinda huffed and went back into the dressing room. When she came out, she had changed back into the clothes she came in and brought with her a cart of clothes she had tried on and was planning on buying. They walked out of the store with several bags of clothing, which was very typical of a shopping trip with Galinda. As they walked out of the shop, Elphaba saw something that made her heart stop beating as she froze in her tracks. It was Frex.

"I—think I'm going to head back to the castle." said Elphaba, dumping the bags into Fiyero and Galinda's arms, never taking her eyes off of Frex.

"What?" asked Fiyero, "Why? We were going to go bowling, remember?"

"Yes," said Elphaba, "But...I've got work to do." she quickly bolted then, terrified of being discovered by Frex. Fiyero and Galinda stared after Elias.

"What's gotten into him?" asked Galinda.

"I don't know." said Fiyero, shrugging his shoulders.

***************

Sunday came, but Elphaba knew she mustn't go to the plaza and meet up with Fiyero, the risk that Frex would see her was too high. So she stayed in the castle. If Frex ever found her....

Fiyero walked to the beach, a new book in his hand, but Elphaba wasn't there. He waited for her for well over an hour, but she still hadn't shown up. Where was she? Was she alright? He went to their rock and sat there until the sun had begun to set, reading the book he'd gotten her. He had so looked forward to this Sunday, but she was nowhere to be found.

He trudged back to the castle after finishing the book.

"Elias, I'm worried," said Fiyero, "Elphaba didn't show up today."

"I'm sure she's fine. Maybe something came up and she just couldn't make it." said Elphaba.

"I don't know." said Fiyero.

******************

Elphaba stood in the back of the kitchens as the announcements were made in the servant's quarters.

"Alright," said the woman, "We've another guest coming, Governor Frexspar Thropp."

"Hey, isn't that the man who nearly killed his oldest daughter?" someone yelled.

"Well, I wouldn't say killed." said the woman, but it seemed she had her own thoughts about Governor Frex as well, "But his family issues are not our problem and you shall treat him with the respect you give the King and Queen, is that clear?"

"Yes." came the mumbled replies of the reluctant servants.

"Good." said the woman, "You three maids, go get his room ready for him. You two go and greet him at the door and take his luggage." they nodded and went off, "The rest of you, keep working!"

Elphaba felt her breath coming faster. Frex was going to stay here? Nessa had figured her out, and now Frex was here?! Had Nessa really ratted her out to her father? Had she gone against her word and told Frex anyway? Elphaba wouldn't believe that, her sister was many things, but was she really a liar? She was self-absorbed, bitchy, selfish and usually unreasonable, but a liar? Her letter was so sincere and the look on her face when she left with Fredrick was so....believable. In that instance, Elphaba thought that maybe....maybe Nessa actually loved her. Elphaba knew this wasn't Nessa's fault....it wasn't....it _wasn't_....

************

Frex sat at the end of the large dining table, opposite his Majesty, the King of the Vinkus. Fiyero and his mother sat on either side of the table. They ate in silence.

"So Frex, I hear your eldest daughter ran away." said Harold, the King, trying to make conversations.

"Who told you that?" asked Frex.

"My brother works for the Gale Force. I also hear you're being put on trial for child abuse." said Harold.

"That may be so," said Frex carefully, "but I never hit Elphaba." said Frex through his teeth. For some reason, Fiyero did not believe these words. He remembered when Nessa had broken down in front of him and Elias, crying about how she would've ran away too. He really did not like this Frex character. Frex sat in his chair, glaring the King. He did not want to be reminded of his situation. It seemed dear Harold was just trying to rub in his face how terrible his situation was and he was half tempted to throw his fork at the old King. Silence fell upon them again. Fiyero sat awkwardly in his chair, waiting for dinner to finally be over.

**********

The next Sunday, Fiyero went to the beach again, but still, Elphaba was not there.

*********

Despite the letter Nessa had sent him, Frex went ahead and looked around for Elphaba. He searched the beach and town and plaza, everywhere. So perhaps she really wasn't here. Today was his last day in the Vinkus, and then it was off to Quadling Country to continue his search.

*******

"Elias, I fear Elphaba is missing." said Fiyero, "That's two Sunday's in a row she hasn't made it."

"I told you, something probably came up." said Elias.

"But what if she's ill or something?" asked Fiyero, "What if she's gone and I'll never see her again?"

"You will." said Elias, "Just be patient. She'll turn up."

**********

On Frex's last evening in the Vinkus, he ate dinner with the royal family again. He excused himself from the table for a moment to go wash his hands first. He walked into the hall and ran straight into a servant boy. Frex and Elias both fell down.

"I'm sorry sir." said Elphaba, trembling with fright.

"Sorry?" Frex thundered, "You'd better watch where you're going next time!" then he noticed something. While the boy's skin and face were covered by shadows, he could see their eyes beneath the cap, brown and terrified. He felt a sudden jolt of familiarity. He'd seen those eyes before.....Almost like someone had slapped him, he realized where he'd seen those scared brown eyes.

"Take off the gloves." he growled.

"Um...I can't." said Elphaba as he heart beat jumped.

"Take them off....now!" Frex thundered.

"I have to keep them on for religious purposes!" Elphaba said, backing away as Frex neared her.

**********

King Harold heard shouting in the hall. Oh great, Frex had gotten into a shouting match with one of his servants. He sighed and stood up to go see what all the fuss was about. Fiyero followed. They saw Frex yelling at Elias in the hall.

"Take off the damn gloves!" Frex roared.

"He can't!" Fiyero yelled, "He wears them for religious reasons and here in the Vinkus, there is free religion. He doesn't have to." Frex turned to glare at Fiyero.

"Look here, I don't think 'he's' wearing those for religion." Frex said.

"Well, whether or not you believe him is not the case. The fact is he doesn't have to take them off if he doesn't want to." said Fiyero, "Why does it matter to you?" Frex ignored the prince entirely this time and lunged at the boy. Frex quickly pulled one glove off of her hand. His eyes seemed to turn red as he saw the familiar green skin. Everyone in the hall gasped. This included Fiyero, Harold, the Queen and a number of castle staff.

"Aha!" Frex yelled, "I've found you!" All Fiyero could do was stare at the now exposed skin. The green skin. It was Elphaba's skin....but...this was Elias, wasn't it?

"What is the meaning of this?!" yelled Harold, very confused by now.

"You thought this was a boy?" asked Frex, laughing menacingly, "Does this look like a boy's hand to you?" he asked as he grabbed Elphaba's wrist. He took off the other glove too, "Tell me, what kind of boy has legs like these?" Frex pulled up the pant leg on her trouser, showing her thin feminine green leg, "Does this look like a boy at _all_?" Frex took off her cap. Her long hair fell down her back and her beautiful face was exposed, "She has fooled you all! This is not a boy on your castle staff, this is Elphaba, my daughter."

Fiyero felt his head spin. He saw before him more than one person. This was Elphaba, the girl he'd fallen in love with, this was Elphaba, Nessa's sister, this was Elphaba, Frex's daughter, this was Elias....his best friend. So when Nessa was speaking of her sister, she was speaking of..._this_ Elphaba. He'd always assumed it was just another girl with the same name. This was the sister and daughter that had run away from home. She had obviously disguised herself as a boy if only for the sake of proper shelter and food. All this time, Elias, his best friend, had been Elphaba. The beautiful girl he'd met with every Sunday, his love. All he could do was stare, as all of these thoughts ran through his mind. His thoughts were cut off by a cry of pain. Frex had struck Elphaba across the face with enough force to throw her to the ground.

"Explain yourself." Harold ordered.

"I—I ran away from home and had nowhere to go. There was a job here, but only for a boy, so I dressed as a boy and took the job." said Elphaba. Frex had his foot on her back to prevent her from standing. She stared at the floor, not daring to look at anybody.

"Why did you run away?" asked the Queen gently.

"I—I cannot say." said Elphaba, her voice shaky.

"Why?!" Frex yelled, digging the heel of his boot hard into her back. Her breath hitched at the sudden pain.

"I—cannot say!" Elphaba said again. Frex removed his foot and pulled her back to her feet, holding her forearm painfully. He slammed her into the wall.

"Why?!" he asked again.

"Because I couldn't stay in that house with _you_ any longer! Living with you was like living in hell!" Elphaba yelled.

"Why you little---" Frex struck her again, "You are coming back to Munchkinland with me, right now."

"No she's not!" Fiyero yelled. He had witnessed enough to know what life must have been like for Elphaba in Munchkinland and he was not about to let her go back there with this terrible man. But there was only one way that was legal to keep her here. Frex was, after all, her father and he had the right to take her back if he wanted to. Even the King couldn't order that she stay here if Frex said otherwise, so Fiyero did what had to be done.

"Yes she is!" said Frex, "This is not your decision to make."

"Actually it is." said Fiyero, "You see, she belongs to me, and therefore, she stays here."

"I am her father! If she belongs to anyone, it's me!" Frex roared, twisting Elphaba's arm subconsciously.

"Whether you are her father or not, it doesn't matter! She signed a paper that stated she was a slave here, she belongs to me. And since she does, she will be staying here." Fiyero said. He hated saying these words, they sounded so terrible and hateful and cold. He glanced at Elphaba and saw thousands of different emotions, they most obvious was fear. Her eyes flickered to his and what he saw nearly broke his heart. She was afraid of not only Frex, but....she was afraid of _him_. Their eye contact was broken as Frex shook her roughly.

"You signed a paper that made you a slave?!" Frex roared.

"I—I didn't know it would make me a slave!" said Elphaba, "I needed a job--" Frex struck her again.

"You foolish girl!" Frex yelled.

"Let go of her." said Fiyero in a low threatening voice, "I think we've witnessed enough of this, and it's clear that you have abused Elphaba. One of the maids has already called the Gale Force. They will be here shortly and you will go to jail." Frex's eyes glinted with hate and panic. He quickly shoved Elphaba away into Fiyero's arms. Fiyero caught Elphaba and held her close. Everyone waited with baited breath as Frex stood there like a cornered animal. His eyes darted around the room, looking for an escape. He grabbed the candle on the wall and the carpet in front of him quickly went up in flames. He ran from the castle quickly, jumping onto a horse in the stables and then he was gone; he didn't care that he'd be a fugitive now, he would not go to jail.


	11. In the Dark

Fiyero had no choice but to send her to the dungeons. She had lied to the Royal family and deceived them, it was against the law, he had no choice. He knew that she had had no choice but to lie to them, but still, it was against the law. Fiyero felt terrible. He couldn't get any sleep; all he could think about was _her_; Day and night, evening and afternoon, morning and dawn. He thought about how she must feel down there in the dark dungeons, all alone, he wondered if the guards were harassing her. It was still hard for him to comprehend that _she_ had been Elias. When he fell asleep (which hardly ever happened) his dreams were haunted with the look in her eyes as she looked at him. Her eyes had been terrified and frightened, and not just of the dungeons. She had been afraid of _him_. Out of all the people to fear, she was afraid of him. He, who loved her, who was her best friend, him: Fiyero. She wasn't afraid of the guards who took her away, or the King or Queen, she was afraid of _him_. Every time he saw those scared eyes in his dreams, staring straight at him, he could feel his heart break and shatter. He loved her. Fiyero's eyes opened, he was sweating as he had relived the events of that night in his dream.

_Frex finally let go of Elphaba and threw her roughly at Fiyero. He caught her easily. Frex's eyes were panicked and almost animalistic. Then all of a sudden, there was a fire where Frex had been. The last Fiyero saw of Frex were his eyes, which were greedily staring at Elphaba. He felt Elphaba shudder in his arms and he held her tighter. Guards of the palace began to run after Frex as soon as the fire was out, but they were too late. Frex had fled. That left Fiyero, Elphaba the King and Queen and a few guards standing in the hall. _

_"You have lied and deceived the royal family." said the King harshly._

_"Dear, can't you see the poor girl had no choice?" asked the Queen gently._

_"There's always a choice." said the King, "She could've just stayed home."_

_"No she couldn't." said the Queen, getting angry now. Fiyero realized what his father was trying to say._

_"Fiyero, she belongs to you, you may do with her what you wish, but she has broken the law and there are no exceptions to breaking the law. You may either give her the thirty lashes yourself or you may send her to the dungeons." said the King. The King held up first a whip, and then a ring of keys. Fiyero stared at the whip, he would never forgive himself if he took that whip and hit her, lashed her thirty times. The very idea made him sick. He then looked at the ring of keys. Locking her in a dungeon, could he really do? How long would she be there? It was the only thing he could do. He took the ring of keys and handed them to the guard standing next to him._

_"Take her to the dungeons." he ordered, not daring to look at her. He let go of Elphaba and gently pushed her towards the guard. The guard was not so gentle. He grabbed her arm forcefully. She looked so much smaller and fragile in the guard's rough hold. The guard began to shove her down the hall to the dungeon stairs. She looked back only once over her shoulder and Fiyero could see an apology in her eyes. He felt so guilty and like a monster. What did she have to be sorry for? All she did was ensure her survival. It should be him begging for forgiveness. He turned away from her, unable to meet her eyes or even look at her. He quickly left the scene. _

_"Can't you see he loves her?" the Queen demanded once Fiyero was gone._

_"As though that matters." said the King._

_"As though it doesn't!" the Queen exclaimed. The King just sighed wearily and he too exited the scene. _

*****************

The dungeons were dark and dingy. There was not a single window down there, only flickering torches on the walls. Their footsteps echoed throughout the dungeons like someone was throwing a pebble against the wall many times. Haunting shadows danced across the walls and the lights flickered across the gaunt faces of the prisoners. Elphaba flinched as one of the prisoners pale life-less faces looked directly at her. The guard noticed and laughed at her.

"Don't worry, he's dead." said the guard. Occasionally, they would walk past a cell where the prisoner had gone mad. They ran to the bars and stuck their arms out, begging for something, freedom, light, water, just begging. The guard would kick the prisoner and they would cry out in pain as they shrank back into their dark cell. There was a long hall and the wall of cells seemed to go on forever. Cell after cell after cell...until all you could see was darkness ahead. There were several guards stations posted throughout the dungeons where the different groups guards would monitor their section of vast dungeons. They would sit at the table and play poker, perhaps harass the prisoners when they felt like it.

"We've got a new addition." said the guard as he neared the others, who were playing poker, smoking and drinking. They looked up. One of them sneered.

"She's a _girl_, they hardly ever put _girls_ in the dungeon. She must have done something dirty, like screw the prince."

"You sure she's a girl? She's wearing boy's clothing." said one of the more drunk guards, his words slurring, "Although, on the other hand, I guess that's kinda hot."

"She disguised herself as a boy because there weren't any maids up for hiring. If she didn't take the job, she'd be living on the streets." said the guard.

"Well, I'd choose streets over the dungeon any day. The streets are a hell of a lot better than this devil's den." said a guard, taking another swig of beer.

"I don't think she actually counted on getting caught. The prince's heart wouldn't let him give her lashings, so he sent her down here." the guard took her a cell only a few feet away from the table and shoved her inside and then locked the door.

"Don't worry, we'll keep you lots of company." said the guard. He turned back to the other guards, "Right boys?" they all laughed in agreement.

***********

Frex was furious. He was not the forgiving type. You would think that a man of the unnamed God would be most forgiving, but Frex was the least of that. If there was any man in Oz more vengeful than Frex, that was the devil himself. Frex was also known for getting what he wanted, that wasn't the case. And it was all because of his green skinned daughter, Elphaba. Frex rode through the night on the black horse. The rain started and with it came the thunder. Perfect. He rode until he came to a cave: his new home. He led the horse inside and he sat down against the wall, exhausted and raging with a desire for revenge for power. This brought him to more thoughts, including that damn prince. What right did he have to say that he owned Elphaba? Frex owned Elphaba, always had, always would. She was after all his daughter, his flesh and blood, she belonged to him. He pounded his fist against the cave wall in frustration. Yes, he would take back what was rightfully his.

***********

Elphaba closed her eyes and sat as far away from the cell bars as she could, curled in on herself and trembling. The guards were gathered around ther cell, shouting at her and harassing her. They were making fun of her and high fiving each other every time they came up with a particularly funny insult. One of them even through their empty beer bottles at her through the bars. She flinched as she heard the shattering of a bottle next to her. She blocked out their shouting, by imagining she wasn't there. She imagined the beach....she saw Fiyero. Then she saw Fiyero the day she had been caught. She shuddered inwardly as she heard his voice echoing in her head: She _belongs to me_...those words were so harsh, so like something her father would say. For a split second, she believed it was her father speaking, but she recognized Fiyero's velvety voice and she knew it was Fiyero. She didn't belong to anybody, not Frex, not Fiyero, not _anybody_. Elphaba's thoughts were interrupted as she heard the cell door creak open. She opened her eyes and looked up. The guard who'd brought her down a week or so ago stood there.

"She's fooled us about her gender before, who's to say she's not fooling us again?" asked the guard, grinning evilly at her. He neared her, "I think I want to make sure she's really girl." all of the others laughed and cheered him on.

"I am!" Elphaba shrieked, scrambling away from him, "Don't you dare touch me!"


	12. Tunnels

**(A/N: Heyhey! I was SO shocked by the sudden increase in reviews, starting about...three chapters ago. It was like, all of a sudden, people were responding to this story! Lol, anyway, thank you to everyone!! I had considered just dropping this story because I didn't know what to write about next, but your reviews just gave me some motivation so I kept writing! I've got a more ideas and future stuff worked out for this story and so maybe (hopefully) updates will be more frequent? Or at least somewhat frequent. You know reviews are what make the most difference! So enjoy! Oh, and as an apology in advance, sorry for any typos you might find, but I had to write this fast. reviews are welcome!) **

The raucous laughter, yells and screams could be heard from the highest floor in the castle. Fiyero and his family had just sat down for lunch. Fiyero hadn't spoken for a week. He might say a word or two to his mother, but he didn't even spare his father a glance. The outburst came from the dungeon, first it was just laughter and yelling. Everyone dismissed it as the guards getting all shaken up from an intense game of poker. The royal family began eating lunch, trying to ignore the yelling and laughter coming from the dungeons. Fiyero was about to take a drink of water when he heard a scream. He dropped the glass of water. The Queen and King looked up from their meals and exchanged glances. Fiyero had no doubt in his mind that it had been Elphaba who'd screamed. He shot out of the room. The King sighed and put his hands over his face.

************

Elphaba tried to back away from him, but he moved with agility and pinned her down before she'd moved an inch. He grinned evilly at her. She tried to get away from him but he couldn't be moved. He climbed on top of her and pressed his body onto hers. The other guards were laughing and yelling encouragements and dirty remarks.

"Let me go!" Elphaba screamed, "Get off me!"

"What makes you think I'd do that?" asked the guard. Elphaba felt his hands at her waist, playing with the material. One hand began to slip up her side, beneath the material of her shirt. His rough hand caressed her soft skin as he groped her mercilessly. She screamed and kicked and hit him, but he paid no attention to her. She closed her eyes as she continued to struggle.

"Open your eyes my pet." he purred into her ear, "I'm going to make you mine."

"No!" Elphaba screamed, "I'm not yours! I'm not _any_body's!"

"Is that so?" asked the guard tauntingly, chuckling lowly. His hand was at her shoulder, tugging her jacket off. His mouth had moved to her neck, sucking on the soft skin there. Elphaba screamed again, wishing that someone would hear her and come down. But she was in the dungeons, wasn't she? Who would help a prisoner? She shivered in disgust as his mouth sucked on her skin.

*********

It seemed like hours for Fiyero to find the door to the dungeons, but that was only because he was so desperate to get to Elphaba. It had never been down to the dungeons before. The stairs down there seemed to go on forever. It became darker with each step. The stairs were crooked and creaked and spiraled down a long tube, torches lined the wall, but that did little for the light. Fiyero ran as fast as he could down the steps. Her screams seemed to get louder in his ears as the desperation grew inside of him...and her. He finally reached the bottom of the steps and was astonished by what lay before him. The darkness spread out forever, tunnels and tunnels of cells, cages, bars lined the darkness. A few blazing torches flickered haunting shadows across the walls that were covered in grime. So these were the dungeons. This is what he had sent her to. He felt himself shaking with self-loathing. Another scream resounded throughout the dungeon, laughter following it.

"Please! No, stop!" Fiyero heard her voice come from a thousand different directions. It was impossible to tell which way was which. The dungeons were a maze of cells. The echo effect made it impossible to tell which direction her voice was coming from. He clawed his hands across his face and he ran forward, taking a turn at the right. He heard another scream and it seemed further away. He backtracked and went left this time.

"Elphaba!" he called. His own voice echoed throughout the dungeons and he heard a loud outburst of raucous cruel laughter. He listened hard, trying to hear over his racing heart and heavy breath. He kept going forward running past cells as he searched this dark land that lay beneath the castle. He came to a guard post, where a group of guards were sitting, playing poker.

"Where is she?!" Fiyero yelled. They pointed to the left and Fiyero rushed past them, knocking a guard off of his seat. The yelling got louder as he pushed forward. He saw shadows dancing on the wall to the side. He turned, and followed the shadows. He could finally see her cell in the distance, men were crowded around it, cheering. They seemed miles away, a speck of figures in the long tunnel. As he neared he saw a guard on top of Elphaba, ripping her jacket off and putting his mouth to her neck. Fiyero ran faster.

*********

Elphaba felt the cold concrete of the cell floor touch her back as the guard began to pull her shirt up. She pushed him and screamed for him to stop, but he wouldn't. He sucked on her earlobe and kissed her lips and pressed himself onto her.

"Hold still!" he yelled as she struggled more.

"No!" she screamed.

"I would've preferred you to be conscious, but I guess that option's out." he yelled, "C'mon, just be still you _want_ this."

"No----I---don't!" Elphaba punctuated each word with a punch. On the last word she was finally able to hit him somewhere he felt it. He yelled as he felt his eye begin to swell. The other guards laughed and the guard above her just put all his weight on her. She cried out and fought to breathe as he trapped her airways. He lifted himself off of her slowly and she took in deep breaths, coughing violently. She thought she heard someone shout her name in the distance, but dismissed the voice as a hallucination, her imagination.

"Here, use this to knock her out!" a guard offered his musket through the bars. The guard in the cell with her took the musket. He slammed her head into the concrete. Everything began to spin and her vision came in blotches of black and white and she could feel her head throbbing with pain as unpleasant chills resounded throughout her body, making her feel like she was falling a million times over. The guard took the metal part of the musket, the barrel of the gun and struck her with it, making her neck bleed as he missed his mark and hit the side of her neck and her shoulder. She screamed. But his aim hardly mattered, slamming her head into the concrete was enough. She felt herself loosing conscious, but she pulled back into the world as she heard her name again, and this time, she was sure it was no hallucination.

***********

As Fiyero finally got closer, he watched in horror as the guard hit her with his musket, her body went limp.

"STOP!" Fiyero yelled. All of the guards whirled around and saw him. There was no mistaking the anger and rage in his eyes. He looked like he could kill them all in one swift move. They all froze and backed away from the cell. The guard who'd been on top of Elphaba slowly stood up. He backed away, his eyes darting between Fiyero, Elphaba and the door to the cell. Elphaba was left lying on the ground, breathing heavily, her chest rose rapidly. Her shirt was hiked up a bit, revealing her stomach, but nothing else. Fiyero was relieved the guard hadn't gotten a chance to go that far. Fiyero cautiously approached the cell.

"Give me the key." he growled at the closest guard. The guard put a shaky hand into his pocket and drew out the key. Fiyero grabbed the key and pushed the guard roughly. He hastily unlocked the door and stepped in. The guard made to move out.

"No, you stay right there." Fiyero pointed to the corner of the cell farthest from the exit. The guard moved over there. He would've just pushed past Fiyero, that was, if Fiyero hadn't looked stronger than any many in this instant, angrier than any man in this instant, taller than any man at this instant. The guard was actually probably stronger than Fiyero, he was taller too. But in this instant...Fiyero was so angry; he seemed to be the most powerful man. The guard backed away without question.

"You," said Fiyero, looking to a guard outside of the cell, "Handcuff him to that bar on the wall." the guard reached through the bars and handcuffed the guard on the inside to the bar, making it impossible to go anywhere. Fiyero then turned his attention back to Elphaba. Her eyes were open and scarred but she was unresponsive.

"Elphaba?" Fiyero asked quietly. There was no response. He kneeled down next to her and touched her shoulder. She jerked away from him as the world zoomed back to her.

"Don't touch me." she hissed. She pulled her shirt down and sat up, moving away from him.

"Elphaba it's me." he pleaded.

"No, no, no, no." she said, closing her eyes and shaking her head, "Don't come near me, don't touch me, don't speak to me, don't hit me or yell at me. Don't do _anything_ to me."

"Elphaba, I'm not going to hurt you." he said.

"Please, please, please." she hugged her knees and hid her face. Her voice was muffled, small and broken. It was heart breaking really, "You don't own me, _he_ doesn't own me, my father doesn't own me, the King doesn't own me..." she kept saying, "I don't belong to _anybody_."

"I know." said Fiyero, he took a hesitant step closer to her, when he saw the blood glistening in the torch light. He saw the trail of blood lead up to where she was sitting now, her neck and shoulder were bleeding and if he didn't stop the blood, it could get really serious, "Elphaba, you're bleeding." he said, "We've got to go."

"I can't see anything." she said, "I can't breathe, I--" she began to cry then, "No, not tears, they burn like fire!" she cried. Her body shook as the tears spilled from her eyes.

"But the water didn't hurt--" Fiyero began.

"It's only tears." Elphaba cried, "That---hurt." Fiyero slowly approached her, not wanting to frighten her. She didn't move or acknowledge his movement. He leaned down and scooped her up into his arms. She kept her eyes closed and pressed her face into his chest and he felt her body go limp as the pain over took her and the blood loss caught up with her. He walked out of the cell and handed the key to a guard.

"Lock this cell." he ordered, "No one goes in, and no one..." he looked at guard handcuffed inside the cell, "...goes out." The guard nodded and locked the door after Fiyero. The guard Fiyero had locked up looked horrified and collapsed against the wall.

For some reason, it was easy for Fiyero to find the exit to the dungeons. His eyes were hard as he walked forward. Elphaba's breathing was faint and weak. He walked carefully with her back up the mile high spiraled stairs. How could he have allowed this to happen? Why had he just succumbed under his father's will? He should have fought harder for her the day she'd been discovered. Oz, he felt like such a monster. Would she ever forgive him? _Could_ she? He doubted she'd ever even speak to him when she woke up. His father was at the top of the dungeon steps, Fiyero brushed past him, pushing his father back. And for once, the King didn't protest as he stared at the way his son gazed at the girl in his arms. The Queen ignored the King and yelled for the maids to go fetch a doctor.


	13. Blame

**(A/N: hihi! Ok, so I was soooo pleased with the number of reviews for the last chapter! WOW! Most I've ever gotten for a chapter. To me, it's a big number. Thanks! Anyhu, this chapter may seem a little boring, but it's necessary for the next chapter. There will be a major plot twist to come...! So...uh...thanks to everyone and yeah. So enjoy:! review if you please)**

Fiyero sat outside of the room as the doctor examined Elphaba. He'd shooed his mother and father away and everyone else but the doctor. His head was buried in his hands as he concentrated on the positive. He heard the door open and close. Fiyero immediately looked up. The doctor looked rather grim. He held a clipboard, which he began to read from out loud to Fiyero.

"She suffers from severe malnourishment, a bone in her shoulder had been shattered by the blow from the musket, she's got a concussion from the blow to her head, she's running a dangerously high fever, multiple bruises, and she's lost an extreme amount of blood." the doctor listed off everything wrong with Elphaba, everything that could take her life, that would have to be healed, that might _not_ be healed, that she'd have to endure, that Fiyero was responsible for.

"But she'll be ok, right?" asked Fiyero, as the list repeated itself in his head.

"I'll do everything in my power." said the doctor, "I'll be back tomorrow to check on her." the doctor walked away then, needing to get back to the Vinkun hospital. The doctor had originally wanted to take Elphaba to the hospital, but Fiyero wanted her with him. Fiyero walked to the door and rested a hand on the brass knob. She'd been put in one of the nicest rooms in the castle. It was large, with windows lining the walls and a feeling of life and freshness to it. He opened the door hesitantly and walked in. She lay in the bed, either unconscious or asleep. Her breathing was weak but other than normal. Her hair spread about the pillow in rivers of black silk. She had a bandage on the side of her neck, some blood had seeped through the white material. A sort of cast, or splint, was put on her shoulder. She was completely motionless. She was even taking in strong enough breaths for her chest to rise and fall. The thin sheets were pulled up to her stomach, probably in an effort not to overheat her. Fiyero pulled a chair next to her bed and sat there. He reached out and held her hand. Her skin was hot, almost searing and Fiyero had to force his tears back.

**********

Nessa and Fredrick were in his parents vacation house in the Emerald City. She spent almost every hour of the day with her Fredrick, her love, her life. He was everything she'd ever want, but he wasn't her sister, he could never be her. No one could. But still, as much as Nessa missed Elphaba, she still found it in herself to enjoy her time with Fredrick in the Emerald City. The city was beautiful and shining, wonderful. It was the hustle and bustle, the calm and collected, the advertisement capitol, the theater and arts trophy, it was _the_ place to be. Nessa loved it there. Fredrick's parents were wonderful and lovely to Nessa. They were extremes in the political world, and they were constantly encouraging Fredrick's strive for a stance in the political community. When he wasn't with Nessa, he was at political meetings, improving his campaign for the senate of the Wizard of Oz. Nessa had no doubt he'd get the votes. Sometimes she even accompanied him to the meetings.

"Nessa!" Fredrick called one day, as he came home from a meeting, "The Wizard has invited us to the Emerald Palace to meet with him. He likes to get to know the people running for political standings in his office. He's a man that likes to know his country through and through, farmers to senators, Vinkuns to Munchkinlanders." The Wizard was a man in his middle ages, thirty-five maybe? He was a good leader, like the King of Oz, more King than Wizard actually. But Oz had never really had a King, and because the Wizard had arrived in such an unusual , almost magical way, he was deemed a Wizard. He was a happy, likeable man, but it was no secret that he longed for a family. He'd shown up without a wife and he remained that way. He loved the youth though and every citizen of Oz.

"But why should he want me there?" asked Nessa.

"Why not?" asked Fredrick, smiling at her, "We leave tomorrow and we'll stay about a week or so, the palace is not far from here, it's in the heart of the Emerald City.

"I can't wait." Nessa smiled up at him. He kissed her and she smiled.

*************

The door slowly swung open, Fiyero looked up and was surprised to see Galinda standing there.

"I haven't seen you or Elias in weeks so I came over. Your mother told me you'd be here." said Galinda. As far as she knew, Elias was still Elias, Elphaba was non-existent and nothing was wrong. She noticed the green girl in the bed.

"Oh my Oz!" Galinda gasped, "What happened?!"

"One of my guards tried to rape her." said Fiyero gruffly. Saying what might have happened so bluntly made Fiyero shiver, he never considered what might've happened had he not reached her. He'd never thought of the incident as attempted rape, but that was what it had been. Fiyero held Elphaba's hand tighter.

"That's terrible!" Galinda squeaked, "But---who is she?" she asked, walking over to Fiyero and peering at the girl. Strangely, the girl had this beauty about her that Galinda did not expect to see, especially with all the green.

"This is Elphaba." said Fiyero, "You've met her."

"I have?" asked Galinda, truly puzzled.

"Elias." Fiyero sighed. The fake name suddenly felt dead as though Elias was gone, like a good friend died.

"What?!" Galinda squeaked, "No, no, no, that's a---girl." she stammered.

"Elphaba had to dress as a boy and take the job to avoid staying on the streets." said Fiyero.

"This is my friend?" asked Galinda, tears appearing in her eyes. Fiyero just nodded.

"Oh Elphie!" Galinda cried, the nickname coming naturally to her, "Oh, Elias, oh, whoever you are, oh _friend_." she began to cry then, "Oh, this is too much..." she whimpered, "Will she be okay?"

"I don't know." said Fiyero.

"Do you love her?" asked Galinda.

"Yes." said Fiyero. Galinda smiled a little at that, but one more look at the green girl, lying unconscious and ill on the bed made a fresh batch of tears appear on Galinda's face.

"I cannot believe this; I cannot comprehend any of what is happening!" Galinda cried.

"It's hard to comprehend." Fiyero agreed, quietly at first, "It's hard, life's hard, everything is so damn unfair and hard!" he yelled in frustration.

"I'll---I'll come back tomorrow." said Galinda, sniffling, "I need to go...think this through." she stumbled out of the room, giving Fiyero a quick hug before leaving. The King appeared at the door then.

"Fiyero...." the King began.

"Don't say anything." said Fiyero coldly, not even sparing his father a glance.

"Fiyero, I just wanted to--" the King went on anyhow.

"Wanted to what?" Fiyero yelled, standing up and finally facing his father, "Wanted to force me to send the person I love most to the dungeons? Force me to—to hit her? Lock her up? Kill her? Sell her?! You want to force me to yell at her and say things I don't mean just in order to save her? Look at what you've made me do! She's nearly comatose, she hasn't waken in three days, she could be dying, she nearly got _raped_ because of what _you_ made me do!"

"That's not why I came to speak with you." said the King, calmly.

"Isn't it?!" Fiyero roared, "I had to treat her like a slave! I had to tell her I _owned_ her."

"You do." said the King.

"I do not!" Fiyero yelled, "I do not own her, _you_ don't own her, she is her _own_ self, and belongs to nobody."

"Some would argue those statements." said the King, "Look Fiyero, I don't understand your relationship with the slave girl (Fiyero flinched at how his father called her 'slave girl') but, I know she must mean something to you and I—I don't know why but I think you deserve her and she deserves you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fiyero spat.

"It means that you love her and I won't....stand in the way of that." said King, "And you mustn't blame yourself for what happened. It wasn't your fault."

"That's right, it's _yours_." Fiyero said, "Why the sudden change of heart?" he asked bitterly.

"I....don't know." said the King, "Why do the seasons change? Why does lightning strike? I'm as clueless as you as to why I am allowing this....relationship. She's below your status, you should be with the Gillikin girl, or a princess, someone of higher status than _her_. But, I'll let you carry on with her, because I saw your eyes when you were looking at her and I, have never seen anything in anyone's eyes as deep as that. Whatever the emotion was, it would be cruel of me to shatter it."

"Now you worry about being cruel?" asked Fiyero, "Have you just now taken your moral compass to the shop?"

"I admit I have not always been the nicest person," said the King, "But I have a heart Fiyero, no matter how hard it may be. And I'm sorry."

"Whatever," said Fiyero, "I don't care about your supposed soul and heart or your insincere apologies. I didn't ask for your consent to love her, I'll 'carry on' with her however I please, regardless of whether you approve of it or not. But I'll be lucky if she even speaks to me now. And now I'd appreciate it if you got the hell out of this room." The King sighed wearily and backed out of the room.

*********

"I'm not very good at that type of thing." the King grumbled as he saw his wife later.

"Did you apologize?" asked the Queen.

"I tried." said the King.


	14. Surprise, Surprise

**(A/N: Hulo! Thank you to all reviewers! I didn't think you'd review for the last chapter, but you did! So why don't you keep it up and review this one too eh? Anyhu, I'm just going to apologize in advance for any typos or mistakes in grammar or spelling etc. I wouldn't be surprised if I have typos in this author's note. So, there's a lot of Nessa in this chapter...a little bit of Fiyero and Elphie. Please know that the Wizard's character in this story is not evil or wicked or manipulative. He also is short and old. He's a younger man not the grandpa he looks and seems like in the musical. I'm considering stopping this story pretty soon and making a sequel to this story. But on the other hand I don't want to start a new story because I'd rather just keep it all in one story. But if I keep writing on this story the title won't exactly pretain to the rest of the story (because like I said, MAJOR PLOT TWIST to come!!! [heehee])The title will probably only stand for more like the first half of the story. And I don't want to change the title. But hey, in Harry Potter, she names them like the Sorceror's Stone and they don't find that till the end right? Oh well, I like the title! I'm blabbing on now....So I'll stop and let you read the _real_ story:)**

Nessa looked up in awe when she saw the Emerald Palace looming tall and mighty above her. It had to be ten times bigger than the Vinkun palace, and that was saying something. The Vinkun palace was harsher looking almost, it was sharper and more traditional, brown. This palace had rounded towers and walls and of course, was made of glistening emerald. The gates opened as the man who watched the gates saw them coming. To Nessa's surprise, the Wizard was already waiting for them, smiling in a welcoming way. Shouldn't a man of his stature be waiting in his throne room atop an almighty throne and then we are brought to him? Perhaps the Wizard was not so conceited; maybe he was just a regular man. He stood there, a man in his thirties perhaps? He had a very handsome face, but he was interested in loving a woman, he was however interested in loving a child, a daughter or a son. He didn't wear anything grand, just the usual clothing, no fanciful cape or expensive jewels to show his status. He was very tall from what Nessa could tell, but then again, she was always sitting three feet down, so everyone looked tall to her. The Wizard began walking towards them before they'd reached the entrance.

"You must be Fredrick Visory!" said the Wizard, he had a nice friendly voice that Nessa wouldn't expect from the leader of Oz, the Wizard, the King, any title would do. He turned to Nessa, "And you must be the ever lovely Nessarose Thropp, Munchkinland's new governor!" he shook Fredrick's hand and kissed Nessa's. She seemed to have missed the bit about her being the new governor. She smiled sheepishly at him.

"It's good to see you sir." said Fredrick, smiling at the Wizard as they shook hands, but Nessa could tell he was nervous.

"Great to see you to." said the Wizard, "C'mon, we can go up to the balcony to better acquaint ourselves." the Wizard gestured for them to follow. He led them down a long hall, chatting amiably with them as he went. If Nessa thought the outside of the palace was something that had been before she'd been _inside_. The emerald walls were covered with art, but not the boring type of art you usually see in castles and palaces. There were no pictures of old dead guys, or boring landscapes, the art was modern and futuristic looking. While a lot of the palace was in modern design, traditional class was still there. They passed a library and Nessa was surprised by the old antique Parisian style the library was designed in. It wasn't a modern styled library at all, it was traditional and beautiful. Elphaba would've loved it. Then they passed by a large ballroom, this too designed classy rather than modern. A huge crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, tall white pillars framed the room, wide windows stretched up to the ceiling, a grand staircase as the head with marble floors.

"Alright, we'll be going up a few floors now to the balcony outside of in my personal part of the palace." said the Wizard. They approached an elevator. Nessa was thrilled, she'd never ridden an elevator before, they were the newest of technology and as far as she knew, there were only five elevators in Oz. Four were in the Emerald Palace and one was in some really tall building in the Emerald City, but the new technology was quickly being inserted to the usual.

"I've never been in an elevator before." Nessa said.

"It's fun isn't it?" asked the Wizard, smiling at her, a youthful glimmer coming into his eyes. Nessa felt her stomach drop as the elevator began to go up, she couldn't help but smile....it _was_ kind of fun. The elevator doors slid open and the Wizard led them through a door way. They passed through what Nessa supposed was a study room and out of the French doors onto a sunny balcony. A few flowers were positioned in pots and basket around the edges of the balcony. Tea was already set up for them. Talk came easily then, Nessa and Fredrick were both surprised by the Wizard's....niceness. It was daunting that a ruler like him could be so normal and friendly.

"Um sir--" Fredrick began.

"Call me James." said the Wizard.

"....James," Fredrick began again, "Do you suppose you were going to talk to me about my campaign and my run for---" the Wizard held a hand up to stop him.

"Fredrick, I didn't invite you here to talk politics," said James.

"Huh?" Fredrick was very confused now. Nessa giggled, though she too was rather confused.

"I want to get to know you not as a politician, but as a person. There is a difference you know. Of course we'll talk politics later, perhaps the next time we meet, but I make it a point to never talk about politics the first time I meet somebody." said James.

"You are so different than I expected." Nessa admitted.

"I suppose you expected a cruel, cold leader who never smiled and was unimaginably old and had no sense of humor and all I talked about was my achievements and others failures and politics?" James asked, smiling good-humoredly, something told Nessa he'd been through this before.

"Well yes." Nessa admitted. James laughed then.

"Well then I'm not what you expected at all am I?!" he laughed, "Or at least I hope not." Fredrick soon found himself laughing at all of his fears and nervousness for meeting this iconic man and how he had sweated for days, organizing things he might say. Once there laughter had subsided, Nessa remembered something from earlier that the Wizard had told her, it didn't bother her then, but now that she thought about it...

"Sir?" Nessa asked, "James? I'm—not quite sure what you meant by this, but earlier...didn't you address me as the new governor of Munchkinland?"

"Well, you are aren't you?" asked James.

"No, my father--" Nessa began.

"Your father is on the run," said James, "We didn't need to vote to get him out of his standing."

"What?!" Nessa eyes bugged and her voice skipped octaves, "How did this happen?!"

"Well, he was about to be arrested, I forget what for, but something bad, but he wouldn't be taken to jail, so he ran I suppose." James said, "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that you didn't know."

"So you mean, I--" Nessa squeaked, "have to go back to Munchkinland and....govern them? I'm not a good leader, I'm really---"

"Whoa, hold on. Don't worry, first off, you don't have to go back to Munchkinland and secondly, you're not old enough to become governor yet anyway. You're only 15 am I right? Goodness child, of course you couldn't govern those people. We've installed someone else, it's been taken care of." said James.

"What happens when they find him?" asked Nessa.

"Trial, jury, jail." said James. Nessa felt the oxygen she breathed leave her too fast. Her father would be totally out of her life now? He was a fugitive. All she had left now was Fredrick. She should be happy her father was being punished for what he'd done to Elphaba, but deep down, Nessa still cared for the man, he was after all, her father.

"If you'll excuse me," Nessa murmured, "I think I need to use the restroom." she began to wheel herself out. She heard James and Fredrick talking behind her as she left.

"What was Frex guilty of?" asked Fredrick.

"I don't know." said James, "I really didn't mean to upset her, I thought she'd have known by now."

************

Nessa was just wheeling herself around the castle, trying to calm down, when she noticed a small green bottle resting atop a shelf along with other trinkets. She quickly snatched it up. She would recognize this bottle anywhere. It looked exactly like Elphaba's little bottle, it was Elphaba's most prized possession. It had been there mother's, Nessa and Elphaba never knew why the bottle was given to Elphaba. All the maid said was that Melena told her to give it to Elphaba when she was old enough to not break it. The maid said Melena was about to say more, another message to go with the bottle, but she had died before the words could escape her throat. Nessa wondered what significance this bottle had held for Melena, it obviously meant something for Elphaba too. It only Melena hadn't died so quickly, she would've been able to explain the bottle, and Elphaba would not be keeping a mystery as a memoir of her mother. And now Nessa finds the same bottle in the Wizard's personal possessions. So the bottle held significance for Melena, James and Elphaba....Oh dear Oz.

************

Fiyero gently let his fingers brush across Elphaba's beautiful face. He hadn't left the room as promised. Galinda came everyday to check on Elphie. Fiyero didn't know what Galinda was thinking or how she was managing all of this, but the way she was immediately so loyal to Elphaba touched Fiyero's heart. She'd nicknamed her like her name had always been Elphaba, never Elias, and they'd been friends since forever. Every time Galinda walked into that room and saw the poor green girl laying there, Galinda couldn't help but think of what a complete stranger the girl was. She wasn't Elias. But on the other hand, Galinda felt his strange concern and overwhelming feeling as though the girl was her dear friend. It was strange. Galinda no longer had Elias, she had this newfound stranger, a girl, a green girl. But perhaps this Elphaba could be the new Elias for Galinda, the new best friend. She knew Elphaba had been Elias all along, but she felt like Elphaba and Elias were two completely different people. She was so confused lately.

"Hi Fiyero." said Galinda as she walked in that day.

"Hey Glin." said Fiyero.

"Is she doing any better?" asked Galinda.

"Her fever's gone down a bit I suppose." Fiyero said, "But...."

"She'll be fine." said Galinda, "I know she will." Fiyero just sighed, Galinda said this every time she came. At first, the words had given Fiyero hope, now they were just false hopeful words that only worsened his pain.

***********

Galinda had left a few hours ago, it was night. So Fiyero leaned back in his chair, ready to fall asleep, when he heard soft mumblings next to him. It was Elphaba. He sat up straight and immediately went to her side. He felt his heartbeat quicken. This was her first sign of...of....surviving in days. She'd laid motionless and soundless in that bed for longer than Fiyero liked to think about. Her eyes were closed and Fiyero realized she was dreaming. It was so odd to him. All this time he'd supposed she was just....unconscious or something, but she had been dreaming. She moaned in her sleep and Fiyero felt his heart break.

"No...Fiyero...." she mumbled, a pained expression crossing her face.

"Elphaba?" asked Fiyero, "Can you hear me?"

"Stop...I'm sorry." she said in her sleep. She kept saying sorry and Fiyero didn't know why.

"Fabala," Fiyero whispered, his voice was desperate, "Please....._please_ wake up."

"No---stop! Let go! Please..." Fiyero could tell what she was dreaming about, it had to be that fateful day in the dungeons. He wrapped his arms around her as she dreamt. Her breathing became faster.

"Elphaba, shh." Fiyero cooed in her ear, "It's alright, they aren't going to hurt you. I'm right her. I love you." Elphaba's breathing returned to normal. He got up and went back to his chair. He turned back to look at her and make sure she was fine. He was caught so off guard when he looked back into her _eyes_; her eyes that had been closed for days. Beautiful brown eyes stared at him, glistening in the soft moonlight that poured in through the window.

"Fiyero?" she whispered.

**BTW-anyone who reads this story go by the name of "passion" on witchesofozdotcom?**


	15. All I Ask of You

**(A/N: Hullo! Sorry for the wait. Forgive me? Good. Moving on, thank you to all you LOVELY, and AWESOME reviewers. I'm glad you guys are enjoying this. I've decided not to make a sequal, at least for now, and just have a title that only covers half the story. Oh well, not everything can make sense. Well, I don't have much to say, so I hope you like this installment, and review!)**

Fiyero felt his breath stop, his heart stop, the clock stopped ticking, he was frozen, time was frozen everything was frozen. All he saw was her, everything was frozen in that moment. She would be fine, she would not be in a permanent coma, she was awake, she had said his name with her beautiful voice, she was amazing. Fiyero could only stare at her. Slowly his breath came back, slowly his heart began to beat again and slowly the clock began to tick.

"Elphaba." he breathed. She looked back at him, but didn't say anything. Fiyero couldn't read her expression, but her silence was killing him, "Say something." he said desperately. Elphaba took this as an order.

"Something." she murmured. Fiyero breathed a huge sigh of relief and he felt warm liquid fill his eyes as he smiled at her. He brushed his hand along her face. She flinched, but didn't move away.

"I have missed you." he said.

"How long was I gone?" she asked in a flat tone. Her face remained expressionless and Fiyero felt worry creep back into him at her emotionless state.

"At least a week, probably more, I didn't want to count the days." Fiyero said.

"Are you going to send me back down there?" she asked softly, turning away from him, "I—I'm sorry I lied to you and your family, but I had no choice....I--"

"Fabala, no, I—I would never send you back down there!" he cried, horrified that she would think he would do such a thing, horrified that she was apologizing. Elphaba didn't say anything, just continued to look away from him. Finally she spoke.

"Then what are you going to do with me? What do you want with me?" she asked quietly, her voice weak, frightened, scared and sad, almost defeated.

"Elphaba," Fiyero began, "Are you—are you afraid of me?" he asked, his heart cracked. She didn't say anything and his heart shattered, "Fabala, I'm not going to do anything with you or treat you like a slave--"

"Then what do you want with me?" she asked, "Why did you save me from those men down there? Surely you must hate me, I am a slave and have lied and deceived you. What do you want with me?" She felt her heart breaking with every word spoken and every breath taken, with every glance in his direction. She had been happy, she had been happier with them then she ever had in her whole life. She had cherished those Sunday's with him, she would read the books he bought her over and over again and she could barely ever wait until those wonderful Sunday's. She had fallen in love with him, she'd lost her heart to him. Now look where she was, a slave to the man she loved, beaten and with a broken heart.

"Elphaba," Fiyero said, softly, taking her hand in his. She was surprised by the touch and looked at him. It was a mistake to do so. For once she looked at him, saw those eyes, that face, that man, she couldn't look away. She found herself trapped.

"Love me," Fiyero said, eyes locked with hers, "That's all I ask of you."

"So it wasn't a dream?" asked Elphaba breathlessly.

"What wasn't?" asked Fiyero.

"I dreamed that you said you loved me." Elphaba said, "Just before I woke up, I thought I heard you--"

"I did say that Elphaba. Do you want me to say it again? I love you." he said, "Could you ever find it in yourself to forgive me for the terrible things I've done? I—can't believe I let this happen. I thought it was out of my control and so I had to send you there, but I should've fought harder. And I can understand if you never want to see me again, you're free now and I just.....I just love you so much." He didn't know what else he could possibly to say to convince her. He brought his hands to his face and didn't say anything else. There was silence for a while.

"Elphaba, if there is anything I could ever do, ask for anything from me and I'll--" Fiyero began, his face still hidden from her sight by his hands. His voice was muffled beneath his hands. Elphaba touched his hands and he moved them from his face. She set her eyes in his.

"Love me," she whispered, "That's all I ask of you."

**********

Nessarose was in utter shock. She nearly dropped the little bottle. _Wait Nessa_, she told herself, _you could just be jumping to conclusions, I mean, who's to say that Elphaba's bottle was rare, maybe it was just any old bottle that you found on the side of the beach or...._Nessa stopped doubting as she caught sight of a picture of her mother, propped on the shelf just behind where the bottle had been. Melena Thropp was smiling in the picture, she was standing next to James and they both looked happy, smiling at the camera. They had been on the beach, Melena's hair flying in the wind and James had on sunglasses. Nessa quickly began to roll herself back to the balcony, carrying the photograph and bottle.

"James!" she squeaked. James and Fredrick both looked to her with confused looks on their faces.

"Yes?" asked James.

"These are you possessions?" she asked, holding up the bottle and photograph.

"Yes...." James said hesitantly, "Why?"

"What do they mean to you?" asked Nessa.

"Well, I—I once fell in love with the woman in the photograph, but I had to leave her. She said she thought she might be pregnant but she didn't know. She said if she was pregnant and she did have the child, she'd give the child a little green bottle just like that and send the child to me so I could be the child's father." said James, then he sighed forlornly, "But no such child has ever come and I received word a long time ago that Melena died."

"This is my mother!" Nessa shrieked, waving the picture. James and Fredrick's eyes both bugged.

"Does that mean that I'm your father?!" James asked.

"No," Nessa said, "Mother didn't give _me_ the bottle." she said it almost jealously, "She gave it to my sister, Elphaba."

"You have a sister?" asked Fredrick and James.

"Yes," said Nessa, "I suppose she never came to you with the bottle because mother died before the message could be carried on. All she had time left to do was give Fabala the little bottle..."

"I—I'm a father?" asked James incredulously.

"I suppose." said Nessa, her mind spinning.

"How old is she?" asked James excitedly, "She must be about 16 by now right? Do you think she'd like to live with me? I've got to find her!"

"Last I saw of her, she was disguised as a boy servant working for the Royal Vinkun family." said Nessa, sighing deeply.

"A boy servant? What?" asked James.

"You remember Elias don't you Fredrick?" asked Nessa.

"_That's_ your sister?!" Fredrick asked.

"Yes," said Nessa, and she suddenly became defensive, "And she was a wonderful sister, the best person with the biggest heart. I don't know why everyone insists on hating her, they shouldn't."

"Why would people hate her?" asked James.

"She....uh, just looks different than other people." Nessa murmured.

"I'd hardly mind." James said. He didn't care what she looked like. He was a father, he had a daughter, he thought he'd die of happiness, "But, why is she working as a servant, and dressed as a boy?"

"She ran away from home, there was no other choice for her." said Nessa.

"Why did she run away?" asked James.

"I don't want to go into that now." said Nessa, guilt bubbling to the surface, "Let's just say that Frex abused her because she was different and I was a selfish bitch."

"She was abused?" asked James, paying to attention to what came after the word 'abused', "MY daughter was abused?!" he felt angry now. He'd never met this daughter of his, but just the thought of any child, especially _his_, being abused was enough to make him angrier than a squirrel without its nuts.

"Yes." Nessa said softly, "And far too much."

"I must go to the Vinkus and bring her back, to her family, that's where she belongs, with her family. _I'm_ her family. Dear Oz, I have a _family_!" James exclaimed, he nearly started crying with happiness. He was determined to show this girl, his _daughter_ , the love that every child ought to get. He would be the father she never had, he'd care about her and if he ever hit her, by Oz, he'd shoot himself.


	16. Tying It Up

**(A/N: alrighty then! Thank you for all the reviews! Ok, no James or Nessa in this one, but fuzzy Fiyero, Elphaba and Galinda stuff. Also Frex included! I am now entering like....the second plot of my story, it's possible for a story to have a double plot right? Well, like I said, I'm too lazy to split this into a sequel so bear with me! Now, on with the story! P.S - sorry in advance for any typos/grammatical or spellings mistakes.) review if you please! ;)**

They'd talked the night away, they'd apologized, kissed, laughed and fell asleep together. Fiyero woke to the bright light of the morning shinning through the wide windows. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light. He looked to his side and saw Elphaba there, sleeping soundly, her head resting on his chest. He smiled and kissed her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him and smiled.

"Morning Fabala." he said.

"Morning Yero," she said back, she yawned and sat up.

"Feeling well enough to get out of bed?" asked Fiyero.

"I don't know," said Elphaba, "I don't feel particularly terrible, my head hurts and I'm a little sore, but other than that I feel fine I guess."

"Good, because today is Sunday." said Fiyero.

"Fiyero, even in my dazed 'just-woke-up' and 'I've-been-completely-out-of-it' for days situation, even I know it's not Sunday," said Elphaba, "Did you fall out of bed this morning?"

"No, I woke up happy as Bob my lord and savior, but it is Sunday," said Fiyero.

"Bob?" asked Elphaba, "Doesn't that religion require hat and gloves?" she smiled, "But really, Fiyero, its Wednesday."

"Sunday." Fiyero said.

"Wednesday." Elphaba said back.

"Fine, but if it's Wednesday that means we can't go to the beach....or the plaza...." Fiyero said.

"Oh! I think you're right, it _is_ Sunday." said Elphaba.

"That's what I thought," Fiyero chuckled. He leaned forward and kissed her.

"The doctor should be dropping by pretty soon," he murmured just as the doctor rushed in. He took one look at Elphaba and sighed in relief.

"I can't believe you made it through so quickly!" said the doctor, walking over to Elphaba and getting out his doctor's instruments, "That was a fast recovery, I mean, well, you're not completely recovered yet...your body will be weak for a while, and you'll have to keep your shoulder and neck bandaged....but wow..." he said.

"I've lived through worse." said Elphaba, "And I didn't even get medical attention for those things." Fiyero flinched at that and the doctor looked away from her as he checked her heartbeat.

"Alright, you seem okay," said the doctor, "But...uh, you might now be very steady on your feet, you might need assistance walking for a few days or so. You're uh...ankle is a little sprained, I assume from tripping or falling or something along those general lines." muttered the doctor. Elphaba remembered when the guard had pushed her to the ground and her ankle had twisted the wrong way. The doctor seemed ecstatic.

"Well, I'll be off now, great recovery and call for me if anything happens." he said. He walked to the door and was nearly run over by Galinda. He apologized and left. Galinda's jaw dropped when she saw that Elphaba was very much alive and awake. She ran forward and pushed Fiyero out of the way and hugged Elphaba.

"Elphie!!!" Galinda cried.

"Galinda?" Elphaba asked as she hugged the blonde back in a confused way. Fiyero chuckled at the scene.

"Elphaba, meet Galinda," Fiyero said, "Galinda, this is Elphaba."

"Um....Galinda, you do know that I—I was...." Elphaba began.

"Elphie," said Galinda, "I know you were Elias, but I don't care that you lied and did that. I happen to be a very understanding person, and I—I want us to be friends anyway."

"Really?" asked Elphaba, truly touched, "Even though I lied and well, I'm....green?"

"I don't care what color your skin is! Besides, pink goes good with green, and we're going to be best friends!" Galinda squealed.

"I've never had a friend before," said Elphaba, looking down, almost shyly.

"Well you do now!" Galinda chirped and hugged Elphaba again. Elphaba laughed and hugged Galinda back, "You don't know how nervous I was about meeting you. Well you know I'd seen you, but I didn't really meet you because you were like....comatose, and so I don't think that really counts. I thought you wouldn't like me because....I don't know, and it was like meeting someone I knew was going to be my best friend, but they didn't know they were going to be my best friend, and I had to make a good impression and now I'm rambling on--" Galinda said as she bounced up and down on the bed energetically.

"You were that nervous about meeting me?" asked Elphaba, "Er, well—'meeting' me?"

"Of course!" Galinda exclaimed, "It was like super, super....nervousifying." Elphaba laughed. Fiyero couldn't help but laugh at Galinda and Elphaba.

"Who's hungry?" he asked, "We can have breakfast downstairs," he looked at Elphaba, "If you're up to it. I could always bring something up..."

"We can go down," said Elphaba.

*********

Fiyero actually picked Elphaba up and carried her down to the kitchen. The only reason she didn't protest was because she couldn't walk very well anyway....and well....she kind of enjoyed it. Fiyero let all of the servants leave the kitchen so he could make something himself. He proved to be quite the cook. Galinda and Elphaba cracked jokes at his expense. He made pancakes (how original) and they were actually really good.

"So how does a prince like you, cook like that?" asked Galinda, taking another large bite.

"How does someone as tiny as you, eat like that?" Fiyero joked; Galinda blushed and threw a piece of pancake at him. Fiyero threw the piece at Elphaba and she threw it right back at Galinda. They laughed as Galinda ended up being the one with pancake in her lap. Their laughter was interrupted by the King's presence. He stood in the doorway, looking stern and otherwise expressionless. Elphaba subconsciously moved away from him, closer to Fiyero. He wrapped an arm around her waist and stared at his father.

"Was there something you wanted?" Fiyero asked coldly.

"Morning coffee." said the King, his hands fisting.

"S'over there." Fiyero said, nodding towards the counter. The King walked over to the counter an began to fix his coffee, unaccustomed to having to do this himself. The kitchen was eerily silent until the King was finished. He stared at his son and then at Elphaba.

"I take it you are well?" he asked, trying to be civil towards this girl that his son for some Oz-forsaken reason loved. Elphaba only nodded. The King didn't know what to say, "Right," he said gruffly, "Have a....good day." he walked out.

"I think he's angry with you for...being with me." said Elphaba, "I don't want to cause a fight between you and your father."

"It's fine Elphaba, he had it coming anyway." said Fiyero, "And who cares if he's mad?"

"Well..." Elphaba said, looking down. Fiyero touched her chin and she looked back at him.

"Hey, ignore him, he has nothing to do with us." said Fiyero.

"If it really doesn't bother you." said Elphaba. Fiyero kissed her and she kissed him back.

"Oh you guys are so cute!" Galinda squealed, "If you were a chic flick I would _totally_ pay seven dollars to go see you!"

****************

It was surprising really, how many people were willing to follow Frex, become his servants, his supporters, help him take over the Vinkus. Of course, he couldn't be the only wicked person in Oz, so naturally there would be a follow up of everyone else just as terrible as him, at his beck and call, just for the sake of doing evil deeds. Frex needed a position of power again, he was definitely not cut out for fugitive life. He was using his newfound friend, Victor, as his new face. Victor would be the new King of the Vinkus everyone would see, but Frex would be the man behind the operation, he was the one pulling the strings. Victor was just going to be a picture; Frex was going to be the tyrant, the _real_ King. He had debated many times in his head over what to do with the Vinkun family. He'd thought about making them servants, but that was too risky, why not just kill them? One by one. Then he'd be King of the Vinkus, he'd have power back and he'd have Elphaba back, back to her rightful owner.


	17. Reunion

**(A/N: oksladokey. Thanks for all the reviews you guys! Alright, a lot of this chapter is just kind of random conversation, but so what! Anyhu, I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story. I apologize in advance for any grammatical or spellign errors, typos etc. But I had to type this really fast and didn't have time to go back. But hey, a typo-ed updated is better than no updat right? So, enjoy!)**

"Your Oz--"

"James." James corrected warily.

"Uh...yes sir. Your carriage is ready." he said.

"Nessa, are you ready?" asked James. Nessa was coming along because, well, who knew how Elphaba would react when a complete stranger showed up saying he was her father and that he wanted her to come back to the Emerald City with him, not to them mention the fact that he was the Wizard of Oz.

"Yep." said Nessa.

"I'll see you when you get back," said Fredrick as he leaned down and kissed Nessa lightly.

"Alright," she smiled, "I'll see you soon."

***************

Fiyero, Elphaba and Galinda headed down to the plaza after lunch. Fiyero carried Elphaba everywhere because of her ankle. True, she could have used a wheelchair, but Fiyero's arms were much more preferable. People stared, but for once, she didn't care. They stopped at the dress shop first. It was just like before, Elphaba and Fiyero sat outside of the dressing room while Galinda changed. She would walk out and ask their opinion and they would mutter something that sounded approving but not even glance at what she was wearing.

"Elphie!" Galinda called, "I just found the perfect dress for you!" she squealed, "You have got to try it on!"

"Is it black?" asked Elphaba.

"No, it's dark blue, but it's super pretty and would look gorgeous on you!" Galinda said, hoping Elphaba wouldn't object to the color.

"Dark blue?" asked Elphaba.

"Yeah, really dark blue, but without being navy. Please try it on?" asked Galinda, "For me?"

"Yeah, try it on Fabala." said Fiyero, "For me?"

"Ugh, stop looking at me like that! Both of you!" Elphaba said, "Fine, I'll try the dress on, Galinda, will you help me?" Galinda squealed and bobbled her head and helped Elphaba into the dressing room. When once again, Galinda helped Elphaba out, Fiyero couldn't take his eyes off her. The dress was sleeveless and the material was a dark blue satin, or perhaps silk. It fit her perfectly and didn't clash at all with her skin. It went down to her knees about. She looked like a princess. Elphaba blushed as he stared at her.

"Well?" she asked.

"You look beautiful." Fiyero said. He walked forward and picked up Elphaba and kissed her. She laughed.

"You know, I don't think I've ever been in a dressing room before, I never tried on clothes in stores. I just helped Nessa, I feel so normal and girly." Elphaba said.

"Girly!" Galinda squealed, "Yes! I'm going to make _you_ my new project!"

*************

They bought the dress and Fiyero insisted she wear it the rest of the day. Galinda took her leave sometime around four o'clock. Her father had arranged for a carriage to pick her up for some family bonding time or something along those lines. That left Fiyero and Elphaba.

"The beach?" Fiyero asked.

"The beach." Elphaba agreed.

*************

Elphaba was on Fiyero's back piggy back style as he walked down the beach by the shore.

"Enjoying the ride?" asked Fiyero.

"I don't know, you're kind of bony." Elphaba laughed, poking his back.

"Those aren't bones, those are just really, really, really buff muscles." Fiyero laughed.

"Hmm, well you must be getting quite the work out, carrying me around all day." Elphaba said.

"Ha! I'd hardly constitute carrying you as a work out." Fiyero said, "You and Galinda are as light as feathers."

"I can't believe how easily she liked me." said Elphaba, "And forgave me."

"Galinda's got a good heart. And besides, who wouldn't like you?" Fiyero said.

"Plenty of people." said Elphaba, "But still...how did Galinda react when she first found out?"

"She kind of went into shock and then she cried I think, but it was like, she didn't even pay any attention to the fact that you had technically lied to her, she was just so devastated over what happened to you." said Fiyero, "You know, the whole time you were unconscious, she came and to see you every day and check up on you."

"Really?" asked Elphaba, "I don't understand why Galinda would want to be friends with someone like me, but I'm so glad we're friends."

"Yeah, I'm glad you two have each other. If you ask me, Galinda could use a friend like you." said Fiyero.

"What do you mean?" asked Elphaba.

"Well, I've met some of her other friends. They're shallow and don't care about Galinda at all, but her parents are rich and practically rule Gillikin." said Fiyero.

"Oh, I see." said Elphaba, "And what about you? Do you have many friends?"

"I have Elias." said Fiyero grinning, "But he's on vacation right now. Other than him and Galinda, I don't really have too many friends. There's Avaric, but I haven't seen him in a year or so. He was kind of a pervert, but all guys are at least a little perverted."

"That's interesting." said Elphaba.

"What? That Avaric's a perv?" asked Fiyero, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I just thought you'd have a lot of friends." said Elphaba.

"I'm going to choose to take that as a compliment." Fiyero laughed, "A lot of people like to consider me their friend, but I don't consider them a friend," said Fiyero, "You know what I mean?"

"Well, I can't say I've ever had that experience," said Elphaba, "But other than that, I know what you mean."

*****************

Elphaba and Fiyero sat on their rock. Before heading to the beach, they'd made a stop at the bookshop and Fiyero bought her the next Harry Potter book. She was reading it as they sat on their rock together. She sat in his lap and he ran his fingers through her silken hair.

"How's the ankle?" asked Fiyero after a while.

"I don't know, I haven't really walked on it today." she smiled, "Maybe I'll just make sure it never heals, I could get used to you carrying me everywhere."

"Ah, so you admit you enjoy it!" Fiyero said triumphantly.

"I might." she said, blushing. Fiyero chuckled and kissed her cheek. Elphaba went back to reading and Fiyero went back to watching her.

"Um...Fiyero?" asked Elphaba.

"Yes love?" asked Fiyero, making Elphaba blush. He smiled softly.

"There's something that's been bothering me or I don't know, concerning me I guess. Fiyero, just yesterday I was a slave and now--" Elphaba began, "—I just don't know what to expect for the future, or what will happen. I mean, I've nowhere to go, but I can't stay in the castle with you I don't think..."

"Elphaba," said Fiyero, "Don't' worry about any of that. Of course you can stay in the castle with me, you don't think I'd turn you out would you? Or let my asshole of a father? You'll stay with me, forever, unless of course you don't want to. I could always pay for you to stay somewhere else or something --" Fiyero had never considered the thought that Elphaba might want to leave him, or live somewhere else or have her own life or start anew, "After all, you're not a slave anymore and I won't force you stay. I mean, nobody owns you--"

"You do." Elphaba whispered, shocked at herself for admitting that.

"What?" asked Fiyero, misreading her words, "No Elphaba, I—you're not a slave anymore--"

"No Fiyero," Elphaba said, shaking her head gently and smiling softly at him, "I love you, and if you'll have me, I would love to stay with you in the castle. I meant you own my heart and that's all of me. As long as you're mine, I'll always be yours."

"I'll always love you," said Fiyero, kissing her, "And as long as you're mine, I'll always be yours."

*************

Three days of bliss followed that day. Fiyero and Elphaba spent every waking (and sleeping) moment together. Galinda joined them from breakfast till late afternoon usually. Every day was Sunday. Fiyero carried Elphaba around the castle and the servants all smiled every time the adorable couple passed by. Elphaba hadn't laughed so much in those three days than she had in a whole lifetime. Galinda and Elphaba were closer than ever and Fiyero and Elphaba were even closer. The morning of the fourth day changed everything though.

************

"Tonight." said Frex to the group.

*************

James helped Nessa out of the carriage. She looked up at the castle, it loomed above her and her throat clogged up at the almost exact same scene, only James wasn't Fredrick.

"We're here." she said. James could barely contain himself. Nessa hoped Elphaba wouldn't break his heart, "James, just---don't be too disappointed if Elphaba isn't exactly the daughter you've dreamed of. I warned you she looks different than most people and she doesn't exactly warm up to people quickly...so don't...you know, expect her to love you as soon as you did her."

"Do you think she'll come back with me?" asked James.

"I don't even know what's gone on since I last left." said Nessa, "You should probably ask to see Elias I guess." James nodded and walked up to the door, wheeling Nessa in front of him. The man at the door seemed to go into a bit of a shock.

"Your wizardship! Your Ozness! What-what are you doing here? I mean, I'll announce you, I mean--" The guard quickly stopped and opened the doors, announcing them, "The Wizard and King of Oz and Nessarose Thropp of Munchkinland." There were several gasps from servants as they peaked around the corners to catch a glimpse of the wonderful wizard of Oz. He truly was a loved man throughout Oz. The announcer was beaming like he'd just gotten an A on his homework from his favorite teacher. He looked rather proud of himself. James took no notice to any of their behavior as he waited for the King and Queen of the Vinkus to come. The King and Queen were there in a moment, looking shocked and flustered.

"Your Ozness." said the Queen. James kissed her hand and smiled.

"It's good to see you Lisa, and you too David." said James. He shook hands with the King.

"Your Ozness." said the King, "Did we miss an appointment?"

"No, no, I suppose I probably should have sent word first." said James, "But this couldn't wait."

"Would you like to join us for breakfast?" asked the Queen. She and the King had been eating together without Fiyero for a while now. He wouldn't leave Elphaba's side, and Elphaba didn't want to go near the King. Lisa couldn't say she blamed the poor girl. No one even really noticed Nessa, sitting their awkwardly. Fiyero bounded down the stairs then, out of breath. He'd been asleep with Elphaba when a servant had knocked on the door and woke him up. He told Elphaba to wait upstairs for him while he greeted the guest.

"Sorry," he panted, "I was just told that – oh, hey Nessa!" Fiyero didn't even notice the Wizard standing there as he went over to Nessa and gave her a quick one-armed hug. She smiled that he didn't hate her.

"It's good to see you Fiyero." she said.

"Yeah." said Fiyero, "You too." then he seemed to see the Wizard, "Oh, dude, I mean, Ozhip," wait that's not his name, Ozguy, no, Ozgirl, no, Oz...man? Yeah, that's it. "Sorry your Ozman, uh...welcome to the Vinkus?" said Fiyero. Lisa rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile. David threw his arms up in the air in exasperation.

"This is our son Fiyero." said David, gesturing towards Fiyero. Fiyero and James shook hands. James laughed loudly at Fiyero.

"Nice to meet you." said James, "Call me James, although, I wouldn't mind Ozdude."

"Right," said Fiyero, "Ozdude."

"So, breakfast?" asked the Queen. James agreed, he didn't want to seem rude and just ask to see some servant and not accept their invitation to breakfast, but he really wanted to meet Elphaba.

************

Elphaba slept another ten minutes while Fiyero was gone and then got up and got dressed, careful not to put too much weight on her foot. She wore on of the dark blue casual sundresses Fiyero had gotten her. She read a book while she waited for Fiyero, but she finished it quickly. She looked around the room for anything else to entertain her. She sighed when she found nothing. The library sounded really fun about now, but how was she going to get there? It was the farthest room from the room she was in now and the castle was really big with several stair cases. She looked at her ankle and put a little weight on it. She could limp there, it didn't hurt _that_ much. Perhaps she needed to stop babying her ankle anyway, then it would heal faster. Perhaps if she walked on it enough she wouldn't notice the pain. She was wrong on that part, her ankle hurt like hell, but she was closer to the library than her room now, so she kept going, it would be pointless to come all this way and then go back to her room, which was by now further away than the library. Shit, that really hurt. She winced again as she took a few more steps.

***************

Breakfast was very delicious and Lisa was glad to have her son back at the table with his family. Fiyero sat next to Nessa and talked her most of the time while James made polite conversation with David and Lisa.

"So Fiyero, where's your shadow?" asked Lisa.

"Well, I think she's sleeping." said Fiyero, "I should probably go back before she goes wandering around on ends up breaking her other ankle."

"Your shadow?" asked Nessa, "Galinda?"

"No," said Fiyero, for a moment he forgot Nessa and Elphaba were sisters, that they knew each other, so he didn't explain, "Someone else." Nessa was disappointed in his vague answer.

"The slave girl." said the King as a description.

"Stop calling her that!" Fiyero yelled, "She's got a name--"

"Fiyero, why don't you take James and Nessa on a tour of the castle?" asked Lisa before David and Fiyero got into another shouting match.

"Alright," said Fiyero, jumping at the chance to get away from his father. He left the dining room and James and Nessa followed, James pushing Nessa, "Um...I s'pose we can go to the library first." said Fiyero. It was silent as they walked down the hall. Nessa wanted to ask Fiyero who the servant girl was he was in love with. Nessa could tell that Fiyero loved whoever this servant girl was by the way he defended her and the look in his eyes. A pained but beautiful voice reached them, coming from around the corner. Nessa froze as she realized who it was. Elphaba, she was about to see her sister again. Fiyero immediately recognized the voice too. He saw Elphaba turn the corner then, one hand on the wall to help her walk as she limped slowly, cursing every time she took a step.

"Damn it!" she muttered as pain shot through her leg as she took another step. Fiyero quickly went to her.

"Elphaba!" Fiyero scolded, "I told you not to walk with your ankle like that. From one side of the room to the other I can understand but Oz Elphaba, your room is clear on the other side of the castle and there are all of those stairs...." he quickly scooped her up in his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. James froze as he saw the poor girl limping towards them, and he heard her name. Elphaba.....that was Nessa's sister's name, this was---this was his daughter! She was perfect, he had never expected any child of his to be so beautiful, or have such a beautiful voice. Her skin sure was something unusual, but in a beautiful way. Elphaba's resemblance to Melena made James' heart break and warm at the same time.

"Oh, thank Oz Fiyero, my ankle hurts like hell." she said, as she relaxed in Fiyero's arms, closing her eyes briefly in exhaustion.

"Are you ok?" he asked, worry etched on his face, "You probably made it worse you know."

"Probably." she sighed, "I was bored and you were taking forever and I wanted to go the library..."

"Elphaba?" Nessa said quietly. Elphaba's eyes snapped open as she heard that voice.

"Nessa?" she asked as Fiyero turned around and Nessa came into view, "What-what are you doing here?"

"What's going on? I thought you were Fiyero's servant and he didn't know you and stuff...I'm so confused!" Nessa said, "How much happened while I was gone?"

"A lot happened Nessa." said Fiyero, suddenly remembering Nessa was Elphaba's sister.

"Well, it seems with both got critical news to exchange." said Nessa.

"We'll discuss it in the library." said Fiyero. James quickly shot forward to open the door for Fiyero to the library. Elphaba suddenly took notice of him.

"Fiyero, is that the Wizard of Oz?!" she whispered into Fiyero's ear.

**P.S - I'm going to ask you all's opinion because I can't choose, so which name do you guys like the best?: Ben, Daniel, Nate, Nathaniel or Aiden. If you have another name you like besides those for a guy, tell me. I'm not going to tell you why I need to know which name you guys like because that would spoil updates to come! Thank you!**


	18. Goodbye Love

**(A/N: Alright, sorry you guys, but you can blame the late updates on minesweeper, I'm obsessed with that game! You can also blame my sister for kicking me off (literally) the computer. You can also blame my friend for texting me and my school for giving me homeowork. Also, I suppose you can blame me...heehee, guilty. Anyway....I was going to make this longer, but I decided no to. Ok, so, you all chose Aiden as the name for a guy, and although I like that name and I asked you all's opinions, I might just choose a diffferent name anyway, I kinda like Daniel. So...without further ado....oh and thank you to all that reviewed and favorited/alerted etc.)**

Fiyero and Elphaba sat in a large chair in the lounging area of the exquisite library, Elphaba in his lap. Nessa sat across from them in her wheelchair and James next to Nessa on the couch. Fiyero was telling Nessa what had happened in her absence, but Elphaba and James couldn't stop staring at each other. At first Elphaba was just staring at him because well...he was the Wizard of Oz, but then she noticed that he was staring at her, so she kept staring at him, wondering why he was staring at her, because she could tell it wasn't just because of her skin. James couldn't concentrate on what Fiyero was saying. He knew he was talking about his daughter, so he should probably pay attention, but he couldn't when she was sitting right across from him. It was clear she was in a relationship with the Prince by the way he held her closely and kissed her sometimes and looked at her. James couldn't get over how beautiful his daughter was. Oh, he loved saying that, thinking that....his daughter. He was such a sentimental man. And really, he loved her green skin, it made her unique. She hadn't spoken the whole time. All James had heard of her voice was when she'd been cursing about her ankle and when she'd asked Fiyero if James was the Wizard of Oz. He knew it was rude to stare at her so, he was probably making her feel uncomfortable, but he just couldn't help it. He only snapped out of his trance when something Fiyero said caught his attention.

"What?" he asked in a choked voice, "Did you say she was raped?"

"Almost." Fiyero sighed, "Thank Oz it was only almost." he kissed Elphaba's forehead. She seemed to not being paying much attention. She was staring at James, confusedly and quizzically. James sighed and gestured for Fiyero to continue.

"I thought—I thought she was going to die," Fiyero said, "But she pulled through. Her ankle's still hurt, broken maybe, but it'll heal." Nessa leaned back in her chair some, overwhelmed by the news. She stared at her sister for a long time, wondering how she would take the news about James. Elphaba felt Nessa's gaze and she turned to her sister.

"I'm fine Nessa." she said.

"Fine?" asked Nessa sadly, "Are you really fine?"

"I'm fine." Elphaba repeated. Nessa just sighed again. It was silent, Nessa not knowing how to begin, and Elphaba not wanting to be rude by asking. The doors were thrown open then to admit Galinda. She walked in, rambling on as she walked.

"Elphie!" she squealed, "There you are, I went to your room but you weren't there, so I thought, well, where could she be, and it was so obviously the library..." Galinda trailed off as she saw Nessa and the Wizard of Oz, "Oh my Oz! Your Oz.....manship!" she gasped, curtsying a little sloppily. The Wizard smiled, never realizing before how difficult and confusing his title was to the citizens of Oz.

"Good morning miss..." James left the statement for her to fill in.

"Upland, Galinda Upland." she said, blushing badly.

"Galinda, have a seat." said Fiyero, gesturing to the seat next to him, "Nessa was just about to tell us something. Nessa, you don't mind if Galinda listens do you?"

"No." said Nessa, not really knowing or caring. She turned back to Elphaba, "Fabala, James and I came here to tell you something...that's going to change a lot of things..."

"What is it Nessa?" asked Elphaba as she saw the hesitant look in Nessa's eyes.

"Well...you know that little green bottle mother gave you?" asked Nessa.

"Yes..." said Elphaba, "What about it?"

"Well....um, James, the Wizard, whatever you want to call him, he's your...." Nessa stammered, "...he's your father."

"What?" Elphaba, Fiyero and Galinda all asked at the same time.

"How do you know?" asked Elphaba urgently.

"The bottle...well, mother didn't know if she was pregnant or not and James had to leave. So he gave her one of two bottles and told her that if she became pregnant, to give the child the bottle and then send the child to him. Mother was supposed to give the bottle to you and send you to James. If you showed him the bottle, he would know you were his daughter and you would've lived with him. But, she died before she could tell anyone to take you to the James and James never figured out she'd become pregnant and he figured that she'd never had a child." said Nessa.

"You mean...." Elphaba began, "Frex isn't my father?"

"No, I am." said James, speaking for the first time. Elphaba's head snapped up as she stared at him.

"I---well, why did you come here to tell me this?" asked Elphaba, "I mean, you can't want me, I'm--"

"Green?" asked James, smiling at her, he took her hand, "I don't care what color your skin is. You are my daughter and I love you. I know this is a lot to take in in one sitting, but I was hoping that you'd come back to the Emerald City with me, to live in the palace."

"Elphie, you'd be a princess!" Galinda squealed.

"Could Fiyero come?" asked Elphaba.

"Elphaba, I'd have to stay here." said Fiyero softly, "But I could visit you."

"Well I'm not going if you can't." Elphaba said quietly, "I want to stay with you."

"Elphaba," said Fiyero, speaking quietly into her ear so that only she could hear, the others turned around and talked amongst themselves to give Elphaba and Fiyero their privacy, realizing the conversation wasn't open to the public. Fiyero continued, grateful for their understanding, "You don't seem to realize that you are getting the chance at a better life, a life with a father that loves you. You'll live in a palace and you'll have a real family over there. You'll have your very own father that looks at you all the time and not Nessa, he'll be there for you. You'll have Nessa and Fredrick, maybe Galinda would go with you too." Fiyero tried to persuade her to go, much as it would hurt him, she deserved to have a father who loved her, "Elphaba, please see reason. You'll have it all."

"I won't have _you_. _You're_ my all. I don't care about living in a palace or being princess." Elphaba said, "I want to be with you always. That's what you said earlier wasn't it? That I'll stay with you forever. We should be together always, can't you see that?"

"Elphaba," said Fiyero desperately, "I know I said forever and always, and we'll still be together always...just not as close. I'll visit. I promise you I will. Elphaba, don't you want to have a father? Don't you want that relationship? You'll regret it forever if you say no and push him away."

"But Fiyero--" Elphaba began.

"Listen," Fiyero began, "James is leaving in a few hours. I want you to go with him and Nessa--"

"But I--"

"Let me finish," Fiyero said, "I want you to give it a chance. In a week I'll come to see you at the palace. If you really hate it there, and I mean _really_ hate it, I'll bring you back, I swear."

"You swear?" asked Elphaba. Fiyero nodded.

"But I hardly know him!" Elphaba exclaimed.

"He's your father," said Fiyero, then he softened, realizing what Elphaba must be thinking, "It's not like he's going to be Frex. James cares about you; he'll be good to you. I promise you, life with him, won't be a repeat of your time with Frex."

"It sounds like you're sending me away." Elphaba murmured.

"Oh Fabala," Fiyero said, pulling her closer, "Don't think like that. I love you. I just—Fabala, understand, I'm doing this for _you_." Fiyero tried to explain, "And now I want you to give him a chance for _me_."

"But he's--"

"--A great man who'll love you and be your father, not Frex. You think this isn't killing me right now? You think I won't miss you, that my life won't be empty without you?" Fiyero asked.

"Then don't make me go." Elphaba pleaded.

"I'm not making you, I'm asking you." Fiyero said softly.

"Then I'm saying no." Elphaba said, crossing her arms. She looked at the defeated fire in Fiyero's eyes and she sighed, "Fine. I'll go, for _you_. Not for him or me or Nessa, for you. And you'll come back for me in a week."

"I'll be there." said Fiyero said, smiling, sadly and triumphantly, "I'll be there."

*****************

James of course was overjoyed that Elphaba had agreed to come with him. Elphaba invited Galinda along too, and of course, Galinda was coming. James liked Galinda well enough; she was just a little....perky. He was just readying the carriage and lifting Elphaba's one small suitcase into the carriage when he saw Fiyero and Elphaba come outside. Fiyero was carrying her and they were talking quietly. James felt bad for pulling her away from Fiyero, because it was obvious how much they loved each other. But he would be visiting in a week anyway.

"I love you." Elphaba whispered, her nose touching his.

"And you know I love you." Fiyero said. He kissed her passionately. She responded eagerly, a sense of goodbye in her kiss. Fiyero deepened it. Elphaba didn't mind and she didn't even thinking about air, neither did Fiyero for that matter. They heard a loud...._really_ loud clearing of the throat. They broke apart to see James looking at Fiyero sternly, his arms crossed across his chest, just like a father would after seeing his daughter kissing a boy like that. Elphaba blushed and she couldn't help but feel like James really was her father.

"I was wondering when you two were going to come up for air." James muttered, "We all may have just realized this, but I am her father and I'm not too sure I'm comfortable with the way you were kissing her young man." To any other teenage daughter, this would've annoyed them beyond hell, but Elphaba felt her heart warm at James's fatherly behavior. She smiled at him softly, causing James's heart to leap. Elphaba wondered that maybe, living with James wouldn't be so bad.

"I'm sorry sir." said Fiyero, playing the role of nervous boyfriend that had been caught by '_the father'_. James just chuckled.

"I'll let you two have a moment before we leave." he said, walking back to the carriage.

"I'll miss you." Elphaba whispered.

"Not as much as I'll miss you." Fiyero grinned. He leaned in to kiss her again, but she stopped him. He looked at her confusedly. She giggled at his expression.

"We don't want my father to catch us again, do we?" asked Elphaba.

"Who cares?" Fiyero grinned and kissed her.

**************

"Don't forget to come back for me." Elphaba said, "Or maybe," she glanced at James, "Maybe you can just come back _to_ me."

"See, you're already warming up to him." said Fiyero, "And don't worry, I promise I'll come back for you, come back _to_ you, whichever, I'll come back."

***********

Frex and Victor were nearly to the Vinkus. They were on the main road leading there, when they passed the Wizard's carriage. Frex wondered what the Wizard was doing in the Vinkus, but was glad none the less that he was leaving. He looked out the window and saw the tall towers of the Vinkun Castle looming ahead. There was his ticket to power, a life, and Elphaba.

**p.s - don't forget to review!**


	19. I Forgive You

**(A/N: OMO, I am SO sorry for not updating sooner! This is kind of a boring chapter, so sorry if you were expecting more, but don't worry, the next one will be more eventful. Thank you to all that reviewed and favorited, alerted etc. I'd like to give a special thanks to Pernicia for being supporive of this little story I have going. Alright, well...that's pretty much it, so thanks and review!)**

For the first few minutes in the carriage, things were awkward. Galinda cleared her throat louder and more times than necessary. Nessa tried to intrigue Elphaba by saying something to James about Animals or science extra loudly. But Elphaba just stared out of the window at the Vinkun Castle, a sad lookin her eyes.

"So James, I hear you majored in LIFE SCIENCES while you were at Shiz," Nessa said, glancing at Elphaba out of the corner of her eyes. But her attempts were futile; Elphaba was oblivious and just kept staring out of the window. When they were so far they couldn't see the castle anymore, Elphaba turned away from the window. A minute ago she couldn't stop looking out of the window, now she _wouldn't_ look out of the window. She laid her hands in her lap and stared down, not knowing what to do. She missed Fiyero already. She had gotten you used to spending every waking hour with him, even falling asleep with him. Finally, she looked back up to Nessa.

"Um, Nessa, I'm sorry I turned father into a fugitive," Elphaba whispered, "I didn't mean to get him arrested or, almost arrested I guess."

"Elphaba, why would you apologize to me for that?" asked Nessa incredulously. Galinda and James looked away, realizing they shouldn't intrude in this conversation.

"Well, you made it pretty clear before that you didn't know what you'd do without father—I mean, Frex I guess, I'm just sorry." she said.

"Elphaba, don't be sorry, I'm sorry for being selfish and taking advantage of you your whole life and treating you like a servant." said Nessa.

"No Nessa, I was the older sister, I was supposed to do those things. You deserved it anyway, after what I did to you and mother." Elphaba said.

"Really Elphaba? As my _older sister_, were you supposed to do my laundry when you were four? Were you supposed to cook all of the meals starting at seven? Were you supposed to sacrifice any happiness for me since I was born? Was it normal for you to become a servant to me, to your own _sister_?" asked Nessa.

"Well, it was the least I could do after..." Elphaba murmured.

"It wasn't your fault." Nessa said firmly.

"But father—_Frex_ always said--" Elphaba began.

"He also called you ugly, and beat you and was a rotten liar." said Nessa, "Honestly, nothing is your fault Elphaba. You're my sister, and I love you. Will you just be my sister and stop acting like you owe something? Like you _owe_ it to me to love me? Elphaba, just, please, will you accept my apology? I am so sorry." Nessa had found that tears had crept into her eyes. Elphaba was shocked at this sudden _real_ emotion. Nessa wasn't just crying to be persuasive; she was even trying _not_ to cry. She actually was feeling this terrible.

"Nessa, I forgive you," Elphaba said. Nessa smiled and hugged her sister. Elphaba returned the hug, and couldn't help but smile, "And I--"

"No, don't say you're sorry, or you'll ruin my happiness." Nessa said before Elphaba could speak. Elphaba laughed lightly.

"Alright," she said, "I won't say it, but I am." she rubbed at her eyes subtly and smiled softly at Nessa. Nessa did the same. Galinda squealed happily and hugged them both, glad that they would all be getting along now. Nessa had been such a sweet girl and Elphaba had the kindest heart. James smiled at the girls. He didn't know what their relationship had been like before, but he understood that Nessa must have been a bit demanding and bitchy...well, maybe _very_ demanding and bitchy, and Elphaba had just let her, because she thought she owed it to Nessa to do as she was told. He was glad they'd smoothed everything out.

"So Elphaba," he began, "I heard you were interested in Life Sciences."

*************

As the carriage ride went on, it seemed that the people inside began to feel more and more like a family. Elphaba was shy and didn't say much to James at first. But she'd loosened up a little bit at least by the time they'd reached the palace. Galinda on the other hand was like a chatter box, which was good because she always knew what strange topic to start next when nobody knew what to say, topics like: which is better, a spoon, a fork or a spork? And why do they even make sporks? The fork part doesn't work because it's too short and the spoon part doesn't work, because the fork part makes any whatever you put into your spoon, slip out. Galinda also couldn't seem to get over the new title Elphaba had inherited. Princess of Oz. Elphaba thought it was just the tiniest bit ironic, that she had turned out to be the princess and not Galinda. Elphaba was surprised at the ease at which James cared for her. Frex had had sixteen years to grow to love her, or at least care about her, it never happened. But James, he'd known her for only a few hours and he already cared about her. He acted like a father in many ways already. He grilled her about Fiyero and about school and what her grades had been etc.

When they arrived at the palace, Fredrick was already waiting outside for Nessa. James helped Nessa out first, putting her in her wheelchair and then Galinda and finally Elphaba, just carrying her in his arms, much like Fiyero. Elphaba was a little surprised that James himself would carry her. He figured he'd dump her in a wheelchair or get a guard to do it. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, I think I can carry you," he scoffed, "You're not _that_ heavy."

"Hey--" she began, but she looked up and saw the amazing Emerald Palace. It was huge, but the architecture was beautiful. She'd thought the Vinkun Castle was big, but not compared to the Palace. Fredrick quickly went to Nessa and hugged and kissed her. She smiled at him and kissed him back, happy to be back with Fredrick.

"Fredrick," Nessa began, "This is Elphaba and Galinda." Nessa introduced them. Fredrick smiled and kissed both of their hands. Elphaba was surprised he'd touched her at all, she was after-all green. Galinda just giggled, getting a glare from Nessa. They went inside and Elphaba immediately took a liking to the place. The halls seemed to stretch on and on. She loved that modern art was displayed rather than old dead guys that nobody cared about. She loved museums, but she hated that effect in living residences. Nessa and Fredrick took a turn down a different hallway, excusing themselves to get ready for dinner. James took Galinda and Elphaba to two other bedrooms. They took the elevator. Elphaba's room was in the East Tower, Galinda's just down a few of the spiral steps and down the hall.

"I've never ridden an elevator." said Elphaba as they went inside.

"Oh the biggest thrill of my life!" Galinda squealed, no sarcasm in her voice. Elphaba rolled her eyes, in five minutes, Galinda would probably find the next 'biggest thrill of her life'. The elevator began to move up and Elphaba felt her stomach flip. James chose the perfect room for Galinda. It was pink and not emerald. She squealed again loudly.

"Oh it's pink! The biggest thrill of my life!" she exclaimed. Yep, and just five minutes later. The bed was large with a pink comforter and white pillows, a four poster with curtains. The carpet was a nice pastel pink, the desk was white with pink drawers. A few chairs, a loveseat, large windows. A giant wardrobe which Galinda had had delivered before they got there. It was stuffed with dresses.

"We'll leave you to get ready for dinner." said James, smiling at her enthusiasm. He carried Elphaba down the hallway until they reached the tower entrance. There was a short spiral staircase and then a door at the top to her room. He opened the door and carried her in, setting her down on the loveseat. The room was white. The floor was carpeted, a fluffy white. Large windows framed the circular room. A large white four-poster was pushed against the wall. It didn't have curtains like Galinda's; it had more of a canopy type thing. There was white desk and chair and a loveseat like Galinda's, only white. There were two other doors, one leading to the bathroom, the other leading to a walk-in closet, which Elphaba hardly thought she needed. The walk-in closet alone was bigger than what she'd used to call a room. This room had an elegant, classy look to it, not the girly type room Galinda had. She saw her suitcase lying on the bed, it had already been brought up.

"Wow." said Elphaba, "This is a nice room."

"Well, what does the Princess of Oz expect?" James asked, teasingly.

*******************

Fiyero was in the library, reading anything he could that wouldn't remind him of Elphaba. But everything he word reminded him of Elphaba. Soon enough, he realized that just being in the library would remind him of her. He sighed as he threw a book behind him. He heard a loud thunk as the book hit the floor. He jumped slightly, not used to hearing the books he threw about carelessly actually hit the ground. He smiled slightly at that, thinking of Elphaba. Ugh! Even _throwing_ books reminded him of her. He sighed, already missing her terribly. The Princess of Oz, wow, there was something he wasn't expecting. Now he knew what she meant by intimidating titles. He smiled, Princess, she deserved that. He went to pick up the book he'd thrown, went he felt a sharp blow to the back of his head. The last thing he saw were two tall men standing above him as he fell to the floor, one who of them looked terribly like Frex.

**(A/N: oooohhh, are you pumped for the next chapter?! I know I am!)**


	20. The Organization

**(A/N: and now for a turn in our story!!! Thanks for reviews by the way! This chapter focusses on Fiyero and his situation, and so starts our second plot, technically the sequel, had I not been too lazy to just make a new story. So, here's ya gos!)**

Fiyero groaned as he opened his eyes. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the harsh light. He was still in the library. He tried to move his hand to shield his eyes, and realized he was tied to a chair. Frex came into view, giving orders to a few men.

"Search the castle for Elphaba, bring her to me when you find her." said Frex. The men nodded and went off into the castle. Fiyero to his left and saw his parents bound to chairs too. Twenty minutes later, the men came back into the room.

"She's not here." they said.

"What?" asked Frex, "Of course she is!"

"We searched everywhere," said the men, "She's not here."

"D'you check the dungeons?" asked Frex.

"She's not here." the men repeated. Frex turned in one swift motion to Fiyero.

"Where is she boy?" asked Fiyero.

"Not here." said Fiyero, smirking at Fiyero enraged expression. Fiyero felt relief flood through him, glad he'd convinced Elphaba to go with James.

"Well," Frex began in a menacingly low voice, "Where...is...she?" he asked slowly.

"Beats me." Fiyero shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't lie." Frex growled, looking Fiyero in the eye.

"Sir, you might want to see this." said one of the men, handing a newspaper to Frex. Frex snatched it and his eyes grew wide. It was an article about the new princess of Oz. There was a picture of James and Elphaba on the front page. James had his arm around Elphaba's shoulders. He was smiling brightly, while Elphaba offered a small shy smile. The article went on to talk about who Elphaba was and how things came about and how happy James was etc.

"Who does he think he is?!" Frex yelled.

"She doesn't belong to you." Fiyero smirked, "You're not even her father. Who do you think _you_ are?" Frex motioned to one of the men, and they hit Fiyero. Fiyero heard his mother scream. Fiyero felt the side of his face begin to swell.

"Ouch." Fiyero said sarcastically, even though it actually did hurt. Frex glared at Fiyero.

"What do you want Frex?" asked Harold.

"What do I want?" asked Frex, "I want my life back, I want power again. And do you know how I'm going to get that? You're going to do it for me."

"I won't." Harold said.

"What if I put lovely Lisa's life on the line?" asked Frex. A man put a knife to Lisa's throat. Fiyero felt his blood boil, but he was powerless to do anything.

"Get away from her!" Harold shouted, straining in the ropes.

"Haha, I'll get what I want, you'll see." said Frex. Suddenly, it was completely dark. There were shouts of surprise. Fiyero felt someone undoing his binds.

"Follow me, I'm on your side." said a voice. Fiyero trusted it and followed the dark shadow once his binds were undone. They went down to the dungeons. They weaved through the maze until they reached the very back of the dungeons. The man ran his hand across the wall until he found a jag in the wall. He pushed on it and it swung open to admit a dark narrow hallway. The man went in and Fiyero followed, the door shutting behind them. Soon enough, Fiyero found himself in front of a dark underground river. The water was black and murky. They walked along the side. A hill began to form as they walked and Fiyero soon found himself in a large room filled with about ten or fifteen people. They were all talking, but stopped when Fiyero walked in.

"A helped him escape." said the man who'd led Fiyero there.

"Fiyero Tiggular?" asked a different man across the room. Fiyero nodded. Just then, two more men came running in, panting and out of breath.

"We couldn't get the King and Queen, they got the lights back on and we had to run for it." said one of the men.

"Damn!" said a man, "This puts Frex at total advantage."

"What's going on?" asked Fiyero.

"My name is Aidan, I'm head of this secret organization. We're trying to stop Frex, and protect the princess and wizard too." said the man, "And we have to work secretly to stop Frex."

"Why don't you just go to the Wizard?" asked Fiyero, "His Gale Force has got to be ten times bigger than whoever Frex's got."

"You care about the princess and your mother don't you?" asked Aidan. It took Fiyero a moment to realize the princess was Elphaba.

"Of course!" Fiyero said.

"The moment anyone finds out, Frex will kill Lisa," said Aidan.

"Well the Wizard can sneak up on him or something, he doesn't have to make a big production of it." said Fiyero.

"Frex has already got spies in the Emerald Palace. Boys, servants, men disguised as Gale Forcers. We don't know how many or who. He's also installed the Morrible woman." said Aidan, "The moment the Wizard is told, someone in the palace will have known and they'll tell Frex and he won't hesitate to slit Lisa's throat first to show that he'll actually kill someone. Then he'll threaten Harold's life to get Elphaba. He's got it all planned out. He's already anticipated our moves."

"Well, if he's got men in the palace, why doesn't he just tell them to kidnap Elphaba and bring her to him?" asked Fiyero.

"We think he wants to keep her in the palace, because we think he's gathering a force to go against the Wizard. He'll attack the Emerald Palace, and he won't want the princess to be able to get out. So he'll have men there that will keep her in the palace." said Aidan.

"Well, what are we going to do?" asked Fiyero.

"Well, we're going to need a few people to go to the palace undercover, disguised as servants or guards. We'll be sending you, David, Nick and Jack in. Jack and Craig are too old to pose as servants, so they'll go undercover in the Gale force. You and David will go in as servants or stable boys." said Aidan. Fiyero nodded, glancing at the other men Aidan had motioned towards.

"We'll work to figure out who's working for Frex, we'll send you the information, and you'll bring that person to us. Don't kill them, just bring them to our headquarters in the Emerald City." said Aidan.

"Where're the headquarters?" asked Fiyero.

"David will show you when the time comes." said Aidan. He turned back to the crowd, "We leave in ten minutes, get anything you have together." the small crowd of people began to talk amongst themselves and grab satchels, stuffing items in them. Aidan pulled Fiyero over to a corner, a spoke in a lowered voice.

"Fiyero, I know you're in a relationship with the princess, and you two love each other, but you mustn't ever tell her who you are." said Aidan.

"I understand." said Fiyero, "Anything to keep her safe."


	21. Irony

**(A/N: OMO, I just had the BEST weekend ever. I went to Omaha, Nebraska to see Wicked! It was sooo awesome!! It was my second time seeing it, the first time I saw it at teh Music Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, and it was not as good because the sound in the Music Hall is...not that great to say the least, in other words, it sucks. And my seats were really crappy, like in the very top and back of the balcony, and my new glasses hadn't come in with the new perscription, so I couldn't see. But in Omaha, I got my new glasses just before we went, so my vision was AWESOME, and our seats were in the loge area, and were really great. We were supposed to see Donna Vivino and Katie Rose Clarke perform, but for some reason or other, they didn't, so we watched the standby for Elphaba, and the understudy for Galinda. The standby (Meredith Kaye Clark) was amazing! I thought she did a wonderful job. The understudy (Marissa Lupp) was okay, Katie would've been better I think. But the show as still amazing! Anyway, just wanted to share that because...I wanted to.....So, here's the next chapter. Sorry it's kind of short and boring and stuff, and you're probably already dozing off from the author's note (which you probably didn't read), but bear with me. I'd like to apologize to any errors/typos/punctuation etc. Thank you to all reviewers/favoriters etc. And so the story shall continue.....don't forget to review! :)**

Now it was Fiyero's turn to wear the cap that shadowed his face and the servant's uniform. He would pose as a servant named Daniel. He and David would be working as servants in the palace while Jack and Nick disguised themselves as Gale Forcers. Fiyero carried his satchel to a small room in the back of the servants quarters, a bit isolated from the others because it was one of the last rooms left. A small bed was squished into the corner, an unstable desk was pushed against the wall with a crooked chair pulled up next to it. A dusty window provided light, and a short candle was perched on the desk.

They'd traveled to the Emerald City, and he found out the headquarters were beneath a pie shop that looked like a giant pie. He'd be protecting Elphaba, and helping the Organization. When Frex finally attacked, he'd find his forces that were supposed to be waiting for him in the Emerald City were close to few and Elphaba would be able to get away, hopefully. Fiyero wasn't allowed to tell Elphaba who he was, it was too risky, and it would be wise to keep his distance. But the thing was, Fiyero didn't _want_ to keep his distance. Even if she wouldn't know it was him, he had to be near her. He didn't want to fade into the background of her life. He didn't want to miss anything that happened to her or for her. He wanted to be there for everything. He wanted to be with her.

He walked down a long hall past other rooms until he reached the kitchen, the center of the servant's quarters. The kitchen was huge, and people were always milling about in there. It was always chaotic and noisy and crowded. Fiyero picked an apple up from a basket and sat on one of the counters

"Alright, we need a few people to help carry breakfast up to the royals and their guests!" yelled a woman.

"I'll help!" Fiyero said, jumping up from the counter and tossing his half-eaten apple over his shoulder, not looking at where it'd gone. David sent him a warning glare, but Fiyero ignored him, jumping at the chance to see Elphaba.

"Here." the woman shoved a large covered dish into his arms. Fiyero smiled and began to follow a few other servants upstairs. How odd it was to be a servant. How ironic was it that he was now the servant to Elphaba? If the circumstances weren't so grim, Fiyero would've laughed out loud. He had close to no clue where he was going, so he followed the servants in front of him, and that worked out pretty well. They entered a dining room, but it was much different than the one in the Vinkun Castle. This dining room was homely, the table was round and not incredibly long, so that you had to yell to hear one another. The people at the table were actually kind of crowded, but they were laughing and enjoying each other's company. As Fiyero walked into the room, he was hit full force with the sight of Elphaba, laughing as she and Galinda made a joke about James, no doubt a family inside thing, because nobody but Fredrick, James, Galinda, Nessa and Elphaba got it. She was so beautiful, and her laugh rang through Fiyero's head. He wanted to just drop the food and embrace her, kiss her, let her know it was him. But he couldn't. He just continued to stare at her as he set the food on the table.

"Thank you." she said to him, not really looking at him.

"Um..." Fiyero couldn't speak all of a sudden, so he just nodded and began to walk back towards the door. Nobody paid him any attention.

"So Elphie, Fiyero should be coming today." said Galinda.

"I hope he comes." said Elphaba, sounding somewhat doubtful and hopeful at the same time. Fiyero suddenly remembered she would be expecting him. She'd only come with James because he'd urged her to, and promised to come back for her. He couldn't do that now. It would break her heart.

**************

Almost as soon as the information was released that the Wonderful Wizard of Oz had found his long lost daughter, people began to become huge fans of this daughter. She was beautiful, and she seemed to have already won her way into everybody's hearts. She was instantly Oz's sweetheart. Girls dreamt of being like and boys dreamt _of_ her. Her unusual skin, didn't come off as freakish, but as endearing and unique. Paparazzi hid in bushes and people even tried to get into the palace to catch just a glimpse of her. Elphaba was surprised by the public approval, it was so unlike anything she was used to. She'd been looking out of her window the other day, and she saw a girl had painted herself green.

Today Fiyero was supposed to come. Elphaba had missed him so much, she couldn't wait. But she couldn't help but prepare herself for disappointment if he didn't come. She didn't expect her new title to change anything, she was still green. But Fiyero had promised her, he'd told her he loved her, he'd come.

**************

The end of the day came, and Fiyero never showed.

"Maybe something came up." said Galinda, sitting with Elphaba in her room after dinner.

"Maybe," said Elphaba, "Or maybe he just didn't want to come."

"Elphaba, you mustn't think that way!" Galinda said, "Fiyero loves you!"

"I don't know." said Elphaba.

"Elphie, there will be other boys." said Galinda, "Everybody loves you." Elphaba shook her head. Galinda just didn't understand. She and Fiyero were meant to be together. Fiyero was the only boy Elphaba could ever think about, would ever think about. He was the only one she'd ever love, could ever love. He was _the one_.

"I don't care," said Elphaba, "I want _him_." Galinda gave Elphaba a hug, not knowing anything to say. How could Fiyero do this to Elphaba? He loved her, Galinda knew he did.

************

Elphaba wandered to the library, scolding herself for hoping and believing in Fiyero. She sat in one of the comfy armchairs, and curled up, a book perched in her lap, a candle served as her light. How could she have been so stupid. And to think, that someone like him could actually _choose_ someone like her. He'd probably found a better girl by now, someone more beautiful, more fun, more normal. She'd loved Fiyero so much....but loving someone doesn't make them love you. Elphaba sighed, perhaps Galinda was right, she'd get over him, she'd find someone else. She'd—

Elphaba felt a sharp burning sensation on her cheek. She raised a hand to her face to find a burning tear. She stared at the tear for a moment on her fingertips as it burned lightly. No, she could not just forget Fiyero, he was not just a fling, she'd never find someone else, because Fiyero was....the one.

**********

Fiyero watched her from behind a bookcase. He wondered what she was thinking. He knew she must be devastated that he never showed up. He felt horrible. He cursed Frex for ruining everything. Why could nothing ever go according to plan? Why could nothing ever be won without a fight? The sadness in her brown eyes broke him, and that tear, that burning tear, just the one, it killed him. He'd never wanted anything more than what he wanted in that single moment. He wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her he loved her, that he was there, he would never leave her again. She stood up then and left the library after brushing the tear away. Fiyero knew she'd need a friend, someone to talk to, to be there for her. Galinda was great, but she was not always the best person to lean on. Fiyero would be there for Elphaba, or rather, Daniel would be.


	22. In Honor of You

**(A/N: Wellll.......I felt bad about taking a long time to update, so here's a longer chapter than usual. Elphaba's new title really comes into play in this chapter as does Fiyero's actual purpose for being undercover. Thank you to all that reviewed. So yeah, I don't really have anything to say.....besides enjoy and review and also if there are any typos etc, sorry!)**

Galinda stayed with Elphaba, because Fiyero didn't, because Elphie needed Galinda and Galinda cared about Elphaba. Elphaba put on a strong front, and appeared happy, but Galinda knew she was still hurt. Galinda didn't know whether or not Elphaba would ever get over Fiyero, it was possible, but then again it was entirely _impossible_. Whenever that new servant, Daniel, came around, he always flirted with Elphaba and it always made Galinda giggle uncontrollably because Elphaba was completely oblivious.

"Elphie!" Galinda squealed, bouncing down the hall to the library. She skipped in and jumped onto the loveseat Elphaba was sitting in. Elphaba jumped, her book flying in the air.

"A ball!" Galinda cried ecstatically, "A ball is going to be held here in the palace, in _your_ honor!"

"So I've heard." said Elphaba, frowning, "I think you're more excited than I am."

"Well, of course I am!" Galinda said, "What are you wearing?"

"A black dress." said Elphaba.

"NO, no, no, _no_, no, NO!" Galinda cried, "I will not allow that. You're a princess now, you have to wear gowns to the balls, and you're wearing an ivory one."

"White?!" Elphaba asked.

"A pearly white, it'll look good against your skin, James and I picked it out," Galinda squealed, "You get to wear a tiara too!"

"Oh joy." said Elphaba sarcastically, "When is this ball anyway?"

"Tonight!" Galinda screeched, grabbing Elphaba's hand and pulling her into the hall to get ready. They ran straight into Daniel. Elphaba stumbled, but Fiyero caught her quickly. You'd think he'd be used to her by now, but his breath still caught in his throat, his mind still went fuzzy and he always became extremely nervous. It seemed that now that his identity was secret, she seemed to bring even more of the school boy crush behavior out of him.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Elphaba said, "Thanks for....um....catching me, Daniel was it?"

"Uh...yeah." said Fiyero hurriedly.

"Yeah, you can let go of me now." said Elphaba awkwardly.

"Oh, sorry princess, I didn't realize---I mean, I forgot to---I was...." Fiyero stammered, "Uh...good day." he quickly rushed away before he said anything stupid....well, stupid-er, too late for just stupid. He turned back around as he heard her call him.

"Daniel!" Elphaba called.

"Yes Princess?" asked Fiyero.

"Elphaba," said Elphaba, "My name. You can call me Elphaba." she said.

"Right, princess," said Fiyero, "Elphaba." he bowed and hurried away, his heart in his throat and his stomach in his feet.

"Oh he likes you." Galinda said as she and Elphaba continued on their way down the hall. Elphaba didn't think twice about Daniel 'liking' her, because all she could think about was _Fiyero_.

**************

Fiyero and David were arguing in Fiyero's room.....again.

"You have to stay away from her!" David said.

"I _can't_!" Fiyero said in exasperation.

"You _can_, and you will!" David said, "Do you want me to report you to the Organization? You'll be out of this operation faster than you can say: Ozma. You can't give up your identity, and you can't get mixed up with the princess of Oz, she's Oz's sweetheart, everyone loves her, everyone is watching her every move, you can't be in the spotlight, and you certainly _can't_ be with her."

"Can't, can't, can't,can't!" Fiyero yelled, forgetting to keep is voice low, "Is there anything I _can_ do? Haven't you ever been in love?" said Fiyero.

"What?" asked David, "Stop trying to switch the topic to my side."

"Imagine being in love with the most beautiful girl in Oz, and she loved you too. What if I told you to stay away from her? What if she was in the same place as you, and I told you not to go near her, even though she was only a room away? Do you know how hard it is to stay away from the person you love? Do you know how much it hurts? You never know how much you need a person, until you can't have them. I _have_ to be with her, I can't stay away from her." Fiyero said.

"Look, I know you love her, but she's out of your league now, you're a servant, and she's—she's the princess of Oz!" said David.

"You don't understand." said Fiyero, "She's more than just a girl to me, she's my life! She's everything to me, you can't just tell me to--to stay away from her!"

"Fine," David sighed, "I can't believe I'm doing this. I won't tell the Organization, but you better be careful. If anyone finds out about this, guess who's head is going to be on the chopping block."

"Thanks David, I owe you one," said Fiyero.

"One? More like five." David scoffed.

************

The ball was to be the ball of a lifetime. Anyone who was anyone was invited. James was a very social man, beloved and known to throw great balls and parties. Of course, he had to arrange for a ball in honor of his daughter. She'd need to get to know the people of Oz, and get used to everyone treating her differently. What better place to get acquainted than at a ball? The guests were arriving at around eight, and everything was in order. Galinda was in Elphie's room, trying to give her a makeover.

"Elphie!!" Galinda whined, "You've got to hold still!"

"Ow!" Elphaba cried as Galinda pulled at her hair. Elphaba was sitting at the vanity in her room, Galinda behind her, doing her hair. Galinda wore a pink gown (of course). It was long and spread down to the floor. It sparkled in the right light and looked very pretty on her. Somehow, Galinda had gotten Elphaba into the long, flowing ivory gown. It was long, it swept across the floor, the perfect image of a princess's dress, it had many layers and swished when she walked in it. It was sleeveless and had an elegant, graceful look about it. Galinda was trying to curl Elphaba's hair, but only a few strands. She had pinned it up in a sort of messy bun, tendrils of curled hair spun lose, arranged artfully and looked very pretty.

"Now," Galinda said, "For the final touch." she picked up the simple, elegant and modest tiara off of the vanity and put it on Elphaba's head, making sure to make it look right. It was a simple tiara, not extravagant or decorated in millions of jewels. It was silver, made to look like entwining roses.

"Why Miss Elphaba, look at you...you're beautiful." Galinda sniffed. Elphaba looked at herself in the mirror and was shocked at what she saw. A small smile tugged at her lips. For a moment, she thought she might actually look beautiful, but then she saw her skin: green, she hadn't been born to be beautiful. Fiyero used to call her beautiful...oh _damn_ him! Why did every moment have to be ruined with thoughts of Fiyero?

"Thanks Galinda," said Elphaba, smiling at her friend. Galinda beamed. She thought Elphaba looked just like those princesses in the story books. She'd tried to coax Elphaba into heels as well, but she let Elphie get away with flats, because no one would be able to see her feet anyway.

***********

Fiyero and David were getting ready for the ball, as servants of course. They were expected to show and help with the refreshments and ushering etc. Fiyero wore black pants, a white long sleeved shirt with a black vest over it which he'd wear at the mini bar and refreshments table thingy. He picked up his cap and put it back on. Surprisingly, no one had asked him about the cap, or why he wore it all the time. The Organization told them to keep a sharp eye tonight. They thought that maybe Frex might be sending in spies, or some of his men. The Organization would send a few men too, for Elphaba and James' safety. Fiyero exited his room and saw David down the hall la ways exited his room too, dressed exactly the same as Fiyero.

"Remember what I said," said David, "Be careful around her." Fiyero nodded and followed the other servants up to the ball room to start preparing it for the grand occasion.

************

The palace was lined with paparazzi and citizens begging to get in. Guests showed up in fancy carriages, wearing ball gowns and tuxedos, their faces full of anticipation at meeting the princess. Lights flashed everywhere, either from the flash of someone's camera, or the lights set along the palace. Carriages pulled into the circular drive and the doormen would help the guests out. They'd walk up the short bit of stairs into the palace, where they were then directed down a long hallway to the ballroom. The ballroom was traditional style. It was grand and beautiful. Pillars lined the walls and the windows framed the room, stretching up to the astonishingly high ceiling. An amazing chandelier hung from the ceiling, emeralds rather than crystals dangled from it, and a grand staircase stood at the front. The entrace to the ballroom was at the staircase. Fiyero stood behind one of the tables, serving refreshments and o'dourves. Classical music played in the background and pairs danced elegantly. Others stood and mingled, usually around the refreshment tables, sipping their wine and gossiping. Fiyero looked up as he heard a name being announced.

"Galinda Upland," announced the man. Galinda leaned over and whispered something in his ear. The man nodded and rolled his eyes, "Of the Upper Uplands." he added." Galinda felt a little nervous as she saw everyone turn to look at the newcomer. She concentrated on not tripping. A few of the boys looked her over and nudged each other and giggled. She reached the end of the staircase then.

"A dance?" asked a voice. Galinda turned and saw a very handsome boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes holding his hand out to her and smiling.

"I—I--" Galinda spluttered, embarrassed at her blushing cheeks. She closed her mouth and nodded, taking his hand. He was obviously a servant, by the clothes he was wearing, but she didn't really care.

Fiyero watched as David asked Galinda to dance and she accepted. _That bastard! And he told me to stay away from Elphaba! He's such a hypocritical—_before Fiyero could finish his thought, David and Galinda danced by and David called over his shoulder, as though he'd read Fiyero's mind.

"Not the same thing!" he said.

"Yeah right!" Fiyero called back as he filled someone's glass and handed it to them.

"Announcing, The Princess of Oz, Elphaba Thropp!" announced the man at the top of the staircase. Everyone turned to look at Elphaba. Fiyero dropped the glass he was filling and it shattered on the floor, but no one seemed to notice. She was wearing an ivory colored gown. She looked beautiful in it. She looked nervous and shy as ever. As she began to walk down the steps, a light applause rippled through the crowd, growing larger. At the foot of the stairs it seemed the group had gathered there in a small circle, James at the front. Fiyero saw Galinda across the room, mouthing the word smile and then breathe. Elphaba took a deep breath and smiled shyly. Everyone's heart seemed to melt at that. When she reached the end of the staircase, James came forward and gave her a big hug, pressing a kiss to her forehead before starting to introduce her to people. People eagerly went up to her and kissed her hand, or shook it and made small talk. She entranced everybody at the ball. Fiyero leaned on the counter and wished her could go and talk to her or ask her to dance, but no, he had to serve drinks.

"Hey!" said a man, waving a hand in front of Fiyero's face.

"Oh, sorry sir." said Fiyero, giving the man his drink. Fiyero never realized how small Elphaba was until she was in the center of a crowd of people who for the most part, were all taller than her. The orchestra was given a break, so everyone was mingling and milling about Elphaba, eager to meet her. Fiyero tried not to stare at her so much, because he kept getting yelled at by people at the bar for not serving them fast enough, but she was so hard _not_ to look at. Every now and then, Fiyero would catch a glimpse of sadness in her eyes which he didn't quite understand. A while later, the orchestra was back and struck up another waltz. The bar area was mostly deserted as everyone was eager to get back on the dance floor and Fiyero was stealing a couple shots, but trying to be discrete about it, so he didn't notice when the princess herself walked up to him.

"How many does that make?" asked Elphaba as she sat at the empty counter, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Wha--!" Fiyero jumped, surprised, dropping the glass. He blushed as the glass shattered at his feet, "Well that makes the second glass I _broke_." he said, "You look beautiful tonight."

"Thank you," she said, "You don't look so bad yourself." She smiled at him and Fiyero had to turn away so he wouldn't blow his cover and kiss her. There was silence between them. Fiyero pretended to clean off some glasses with a rag and Elphaba watched the elegant couples waltz. When Fiyero knew she wasn't looking, he set the rag and glass down and leaned on the counter and watched her. That sad look was in her eyes again, and Fiyero wanted so much for it to go away. Fiyero was about to ask her why she was sad, when Galinda came over, bubbly and happy, with David.

"Elphie!" Galinda cried, "I can't believe you're over here....being.....over here and you're not dancing!"

"Well...." Elphaba said, thinking of an excuse, "No one asked me to dance."

"Now that right there is a lie, every male in here asked you to dance!" said Galinda.

"Well I wasn't in the mood to dance." Elphaba said.

"How can you not be in the mood to dance, when you're at a ball?" asked Galinda, a genuinely confused look on her face. Elphaba just rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you and..." Elphaba began.

"David." said Galinda.

"Yes, you and David go for another waltz?" asked Elphaba.

"I'm not leaving you alone until you go and dance." said Galinda, crossing her arms.

"Would you like to dance with me?" asked Fiyero.

"What?" asked Elphaba, "I mean—I don't--"

"She'd love to!" Galinda shouted.

"I really--" Elphaba began to argue.

"Great." said Fiyero, coming from around the corner and taking her hand. David sent him a glare and Fiyero stepped on his foot.

"Ow!" David said, at Galinda's strange look he said, "Um, my foot just randomly started hurting, I'm fine." Fiyero smirked at David and took Elphaba out onto the dance floor. The dancers cleared a small path as they watched the pair. Elphaba picked up a length of her gown and took Fiyero's hand, her other hand rested on his shoulder. He let his free hand rest at her waist.

"So..." Elphaba said as they danced, "How are you?" she asked. Fiyero chuckled, of course only Elphaba would be one to want to hold a conversation during a waltz.

"I'm fine," said Fiyero, "And yourself?"

"I've been better." Elphaba sighed, the sad look returning to her eyes.

"Why are you so sad?" asked Fiyero. Elphaba looked at him, surprised.

"I'm not sad....or disappointed or--" Elphaba stammered.

"I didn't say disappointed, but now I know that you're disappointed as well." said Fiyero, "Why?"

"I'm not....I just...had the completely wrong idea about someone." Elphaba sighed, looking away.

"Wrong idea?" asked Fiyero. Wrong idea? No, she had the perfectly right idea, he loved her, there was no mistake there, now she though he hated him!

"I thought he--" Elphaba began, then stopped abruptly, "I don't even know you that well, and I'm not growing too fond of this conversation."

"I'm sorry princess, I didn't mean to pry." sad Fiyero.

"Elphaba," Elphaba snapped, then she softened, "You can call my Elphaba."

"Right princess." said Fiyero, he couldn't help but grin, remembering when he'd had an argument very similar to this one, only reversed and with Elias.

"Now you're just doing that on purpose." said Elphaba.

"Maybe." said Fiyero. He knew that Elphaba was never supposed to figure out who he was, but for some reason, he wanted her to figure it out. He had some fantasy that one day, she'd just realize it had been him all along. That Daniel would remind her so much of Fiyero that she....figured it out. He wanted her to fall in love with him again and then...figure out it was him. This all sounded so preposterous, and it would never happen, because he couldn't let her figure it out, but—Fiyero realized he shouldn't get into romantics with her. She needed a friend, not another boy to be cautious around. Finding out 'Daniel' was in love with her would scare her off and so he'd keep things between them friendly. She didn't need any more complications--Fiyero's thoughts were interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. David was standing there, an urgent look on his face.

"Daniel, we've got to go," said David, "We're needed in the kitchens."

"The kitchens call." Fiyero sighed and kissed Elphaba's hand before following David out of the ballroom. Elphaba sighed as she watched him go. Friends. Only and always friends.

*********

"What's the big problem?" asked Fiyero once he and David had gotten into the hall.

"The Organization cracked someone's identity." said David, "Gale Force member Paul Smith, under the name of Henry Keller."

"No, that can't be right, I was just talking to him the other day, he's a nice guy--" Fiyero argued.

"You can't trust anyone." said David.

"Well, what are we going to do?" asked Fiyero.

"Great, they had to give me the most inexperienced guy from the Organization!" David said.

"I'm new!" said Fiyero, "What do you expect?"

"We're not going to kill him, but we're probably going to have to knock him out and take him back to headquarters." said David, "Alright, according to the message, he should be patrolling the hall outside of the dining room."

"What do I do?" asked Fiyero.

"Oz!" David yelled, "Just follow me and watch." they crept towards the designated hall and leaned around the quarter. They saw Paul, or rather 'Henry' standing against the wall, looking bored as ever, yawning. David put a finger to his lips and slowly went towards Paul. Fiyero followed behind, unsure, a sudden adrenaline rush shooting through him in anticipation. Suddenly, David grabbed Paul, putting an arm around his neck, his other hand going to his mouth to muffle his yell of surprise. Paul struggled, and David struggled to hold onto him.

"Well?!" David said to Fiyero. Fiyero grabbed a vase propped against the wall and smashed it into Paul's head. Paul jerked and then went limp.

"There are easier ways to knock out a man." said David, dropping Paul on the floor.

"It was the first thing I could think of!" Fiyero defended himself, "It did the job, didn't it?"

"I suppose." said David, "C'mon, now we've got to drag him all the way down to headquarters without being seen."

"That sounds like too much work." said Fiyero. He went into the dining room and came back with a bottle of beer. He splashed some on Paul's face and then took a swig himself before putting it back in the dining room.

"What was that for?" asked David.

"Well, now it doesn't matter if we get seen," said Fiyero, shrugging, "We can just tell everyone he had too much to drink and passed out, we're taking him out for air or something."

"That's so stupi—actually, that's not a terrible idea." said David.

"I'm a genius." said Fiyero a bit sarcastically, leaning down to hoist one of Paul's arms around his shoulder. David took the other arm and they began to drag Paul down the hall. People didn't even ask when they saw them, turns out Paul had a bad reputation for drinking anyway. They tried to go out back to avoid the swarming paparazzi and people, but they were all around the palace. They pushed their way through and finally got through the crowds into the dark nearly deserted light, save for the few drunks stumbling down the road or the homeless sitting on the sidewalks muttering to themselves. They reached the pie shop and went in through the back down the long stairs to the cellar. Two Organization members met them at the door and took Paul off their hands.

"We'll take him from here." said one of the men, "Third guy we've caught tonight, and two more are on the way."

"Great." said David, "You have money for cab fare?"

"Sure, sure." said one of the men. He dug in his pockets and found a few coins and tossed them to David.

"Thanks." David called over his shoulder as he and Fiyero began to walk back upstairs.

"You get the gist of what we do now?" asked David once they'd hailed a carriage.

"Yeah." said Fiyero, "What does the Organization do with the men?"

"How should I know?" asked David, "All's I know is they either train 'em to be on our side, or they lock 'em up till this whole thing blows over and their leader is behind bars or dead."

"So they won't kill them, right?" asked Fiyero.

"Nah," said David, "They don't kill 'em." Fiyero sighed with relief, that had been the only thing bothering him about the whole scheme.

"So," Fiyero began, grinning at David, "You and Galinda?"

"Shut up." said David, shoving Fiyero, "It's not like we're 'together'."

"Yeah, but you want to be!" Fiyero laughed.

"She's out of my league. We all want stuff, but when was the last time any of us ever got anything we ever wanted?"

"Good point there." Fiyero sighed, thinking of Elphaba.

**************


	23. Am Not, Are Too

**(A/N: Ok, I _think_ this is pretty fast for an update. So yeah, here ya go. Not much happens in this chapter, but it's crucial for further chapters! So sorry for any errors, and review!)**

Fiyero and Elphaba spent a lot of time together after the ball, or rather, Elphaba and Daniel spent a lot of time together. Fiyero didn't know if it was possible to fall in love with someone you're already in love with, but he was falling hard. He was falling again, deeper and deeper. Elphaba was still sad a lot of the time, but Daniel and Galinda were always there to cheer her up. Nessa and Fredrick had moved back to Fredrick's parent's house in the Emerald City, but they visited sometimes. At night, Fiyero and David would sometimes get messages from the Organization when they cracked some else's identity and they'd knock them out and take them back to headquarters. It became almost like a game really, seeing who could come up with the most creative ways to knock someone out. David began to watch Fiyero when he was around Elphaba. He could see that Fiyero was one inch away from snapping and kissing her or blowing his cover and David couldn't have that.

"Daniel," David called Fiyero over. He was currently sitting with Elphaba on the balcony and chatting, sitting dangerously close really.

"I'll be right back." said Fiyero and walked towards David.

"What?" asked Fiyero, "Couldn't you see I was busy?"

"Busy? That's for sure. Fiyero you are one inch away from blowing your cover. I told you you could be around her if you didn't get romantically involved with her, and you are falling hard and I'm not so sure you or her will be able to stop yourselves if you end up falling for each other." said David, "We need to ensure that she won't fall for you, and something that will remind you that you _can't_ get romantically involved with her."

"Fine." said Fiyero, "What do you propose I do?"

"I don't know!" David said, "Figure something out, you're the genius remember?"

"Fine!" said Fiyero.

"Stop saying fine!" David said, finding it rather annoying.

"Fine!" Fiyero said.

"You did it again!"

"Fine!"

"That didn't even make sense!"

"Fine!"

"Shut up!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

************

Galinda watched from behind a bookshelf as Daniel watched Elphie from behind a bookshelf. And Elphaba didn't watch anyone from behind a bookshelf because she was reading. Daniel was smiling softly Galinda realized, if she could see his eyes, she knew they'd have that adorable 'I-love-the-green-girl' look in them.

"Psst!" Galinda whispered. Elphaba looked up and Galinda and Daniel both leaned back behind their bookshelves and Elphaba looked back at her book. They both slowly leaned back around.

"Psst!" Galinda said again. Elphaba looked up again, an irritated look on her face. Daniel and Galinda both swung around behind the bookshelves. Elphaba looked back down and shook her head. Galinda looked back around. She was about to say, psst again, but Daniel held a finger to his lips and Galinda shut up. Daniel looked at Elphaba once more before pointing to a table behind a bookshelf across from Elphaba. Galinda nodded and they both crawled over to the table. Their heads met with a sharp bump under the table.

"Ow!" they both said. Elphaba looked up again and they both shut up.

"What do you want?" asked Daniel.

"You like Elphie!" Galinda hissed.

"So do you!" Daniel said.

"I mean, you _love_ Elphie!" Galinda snapped, "Stupid."

"I do not!" Daniel said. Damn, he got figured out fast. Fiyero began to panic, he couldn't get figured out!  
"Then explain why you're watching her from behind a bookshelf!" Galinda whisper-shouted.

"Why are you watching _me_ behind a bookshelf?!" asked Fiyero.

"I'm curious!" Galinda said.

"Well, that's why I'm watching her, I'm _curious_." Fiyero said.

"Liar." said Galinda.

"Am not!" Fiyero said.

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Am not!"

"Am no—wait what?"

"I mean—uh—are too!"

"Look, I've had enough of this Miss Galinda Upland, so if you don't mind--" Fiyero started to back out from under the table.

"Prove you don't love her!" Galinda hissed, grabbing his arm and yanking him back. Fiyero hit the ground with a loud smack.

"Ow!" Fiyero said, surprised once again at Galinda strength. Elphaba looked up again and then looked back at her book.

"Fine, it's impossible for me to like her because--" Fiyero thought.

"Because?!" Galinda asked.

"I'm--" Fiyero began.

"What?!" Galinda asked. Fiyero started to feel really pressured so he said the first thing that popped into his mind.

"Gay! I'm gay!" Fiyero said.

"What?!" Galinda said.

"I'm gay, gayer than a....than a....peach!" Fiyero said again. Hey, he could live with that, Elphaba couldn't fall for him that way, and he would constantly be reminded that he couldn't fall for her.

"No you're not!" Galinda said. That couldn't be true, Daniel couldn't be gay, he was in love with Elphaba, she just knew it!

"Am too!" Daniel argued.

"Are not!"

"Am too!"

"Are not!"

"Am too!"

"Am too!"

"Am to—wait what?"

"Uh—I mean, ARE NOT!"

"AM TOO!"

"Ok, what's going on?!" asked Elphaba pulling the table cloth off of the table, revealing Daniel and Galinda crouched beneath, "Um...Daniel? Galinda? Are you two.....?"

"No!" they both said at the same time.

"Then what are you doing?" asked Elphaba.

"Arguing!" they both said.

"Well that's certain." said Elphaba.

"Daniel's gay." Galinda said, knowing it wasn't true. If Daniel as going to lie about being gay, then she was going to make it the worst lie he ever told.

"Really?" asked Elphaba, eyes widening, "That's great!"

"What?!" Galinda and Daniel said at the same time. Elphaba was not disturbed by this news or anything, she was actually glad. She had no chance to fall for him now. She always felt guilty around him, like...she felt that same thing she felt around Fiyero, now that he was gay, she wouldn't have to worry about it, it was great really. Elphaba gave Daniel a hug.

"Um....I'm glad you're happy I'm...uh, gay." said Daniel, scratching his ear confusedly.

"Yeah, it's just great really." said Elphaba, smiling at him. Fiyero didn't know whether to be happy, sad or confused.

"Um....I'm going to go...buy a scarf." said Fiyero, walking away before he got into anymore trouble. He ran into David in the hall.

"Are you happy now? I'm gay!" said Fiyero.

"Since when?" asked David.

"Not really, stupid! It's my plan, you know." said Fiyero.

"Oh, that's actually not that stupid." said David.

"I'm a genius." Fiyero growled and walked away.


	24. Peaches and Kiwis

**(A/N: okay, I'm officialy on summer vacation now!! But I start summer school next Monday, oh well. But no, I'm not going to summer school because I have bad grades, I'm going because I have nothing else to do this summer, plus my mom is making me. This chapter kind of intensifies our Daniel/Elphaba relationship thingy and yeahzers. So thankyou if you reviewed and keep reviewing and reading! Thanks!)**

Elphaba had just finished another book in the library and decided to stroll through the palace. Even though she'd lived there for a while, she hadn't explored yet. She wandered down the long halls letting her fingertips skim the walls. As she walked, she began to sing. She hadn't sung in so long, in truth, ever since Frex, she'd been afraid to sing, afraid that if anyone found out she _could_, they'd use it against her and hurt her like Frex had. But as she walked, she forgot about that.

"Angel of music, guide and guardian...."

********

James was in his study going over some papers when a beautiful voice floated towards him. He looked up and dropped his papers. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard. He stood up and let his feet take him towards the music. Servants in the hall dropped their mops or rags upon hearing the voice. James turned a corner and found her walking by and singing.

"Elphaba?" asked James. She immediately stopped.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Was that you singing?" asked James.

"No." said Elphaba quickly, "It wasn't me...."

"Yes it was, I heard you!" James smiled, "You have a beautiful voice."

"Thank you." said Elphaba curtly, directing her gaze away from him.

"Sing another song." James said, not in a demanding way though. Elphaba suddenly moved away from him. She remembered Frex, yelling at her to sing, hitting her and beating her when she refused to. What if James turned into that too?

"No!" Elphaba said.

"What's wrong--" James began taking a step forward.

"Don't—_don't_ ask me to sing for you." Elphaba said, taking a step away from him and glaring at him.

"Elphaba, what's--" James began, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No! Don't ask me to sing for you, I won't. I'm not going to sing for you." Elphaba jerked away from him and ran down the hall.

"Elphaba!"

***********

Fiyero was cleaning off a window when he saw Elphaba run by, her hair flying behind her. Fiyero whirled around to ask her what was wrong but she'd already run past him. He heard more footsteps and turned back around and saw James running after her.

"Elphaba!" he called, "Elphaba what's wrong?!"

"What did you do to her?" asked Fiyero angrily.

"I don't know what happened!" James said, flustered and concerned, "I heard her singing and it was absolutely beautiful, I asked her to sing another song for me and she just became angry. She got scared and wouldn't let me touch her and she just _ran_." Fiyero didn't know what to say to this, he knew there must be some back story, but he didn't know what it was. He wondered why Elphaba had become so scared of her own father just because he asked her to sing.

"I'll go after her." said Fiyero. He dropped his rag before running after Elphaba.

***********

Even after she heard James stop running after her, she kept running. She didn't know why she was so scared, he was James, he loved her and was kind to her, he'd never do what Frex did, but still, there were so many memories....Everything in her life had begun to work out, minus Fiyero of course. She and James had an amazing relationship but Elphaba was so afraid that this one thing could ruin it all, even though it was foolish to think so. She felt fear rising and she kept running.

************

Fiyero knew the halls of the palace well, after sneaking up on so many men and knocking them out. He knew Elphaba was heading outside, so he took a shortcut so that he'd cut her off at the door. He turned a sharp corner and Elphaba ran right into him. He quickly grabbed her wrists before she ran away again. She tried to pull away but he held strongly.

"Let me go!" she screamed at him, "Let me go, please, I'm not singing for you so don't try and make me." She didn't even look at him, only focusing on getting away.

"Elphaba, shhh, it's just me, I'm not going to hurt you." he cooed in her ear as he pulled her closer, despite her struggling.

"I didn't mean to sing or let anyone find out!" she said frantically, "I forgot, please let me go!" a few servants had accumulated in the halls and were watching the scene with wide eyes.

"Elphaba!" Fiyero said louder, "It's just me!" Finally, Elphaba looked up at him and she stopped struggling. For a moment, she thought she'd heard Fiyero, but then she remembered Fiyero was gone, didn't want her, he couldn't be there. She realized it was Daniel.

"Oh, it's just you, I thought—I'm sorry..." said Elphaba, finally calming down. She saw James enter the hall and she flinched. James felt his heart drop at her reaction. What had he done to her? If he did anything wrong, he didn't mean to! He hadn't meant to scare her or make her hate him.

"C'mon." said Fiyero to Elphaba. Elphaba wordlessly let him lead her away from everyone out of the door and outside. The servants stared after the princess and Daniel, wondering what had happened. They were all very concerned.

************

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" asked Fiyero. They had gone outside and were on the hammock lying down together, Elphaba's head on his chest and his arm around her shoulders. It was very relaxing. Any passerby would've called them a couple, but they both knew better. Elphaba never would've felt comfortable with this if he hadn't been gay. It was a nice summer day; it was warm but not hot. A light breeze blew and you could hear birds chirping ever so often. The hammock was beneath a tree in a shady area, but spots of light darted through the light green leaves.

"James heard me singing this morning and asked me to sing another song for him and I got...I guess I got scared." said Elphaba.

"Why?" asked Fiyero.

"It's just, I didn't want James to start...I don't know, I didn't want him to do what Frex did." said Elphaba after much stuttering. She focused her gaze on the leaves above her and the blue bits of sky she could see through the leaves.

"What did Frex do?" asked Fiyero softly. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"He...he would hit me and beat me until—until I told him I'd sing for him, and if I didn't he'd lock me up for days without food." said Elphaba.

"That's awful." said Fiyero, he couldn't think of anything else there was to say, "You know...you know James would never do anything like that. He loves you more than you know. He cares about you immensley, he'd never do anything to hurt you and make you do anything you didn't want to."

"I know, I know he'd never do anything like that, I just had a sort of flashback I guess and I got scared." said Elphaba, "Sorry for causing you so much trouble in the hall this morning."

"Don't apologize. I can understand why you reacted the way you did." said Fiyero, "You should probably talk to James later on, he's probably panicking right now."

"Probably." said Elphaba. She turned over so she was facing him, "I'm really glad we're friends Daniel."

"Me too." said Fiyero softly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He felt his body begin to tingle and his breath come faster and his heart sped up. He felt his resistance crashing as he felt himself lean forward ready to kiss her. Her eyes fluttered close and he thought they might actually kiss when a high voice broke the spell, they both pulled back instantly.

"I KNEW IT!" Galinda shrieked from the opposite side of the courtyards, "I _knew_ you weren't gay!"

"Oz damnit, I am too!" Fiyero yelled at her.

"Are not!" Galinda yelled back, running towards them as fast as she could in her heels.

"Am too!"

"Are not!"

"Am too!"

"Am too!"

"Am to—wait what?"

"I mean...ARE NOT! You couldn't out-gay a hippo!" Galinda said.

"Hippos aren't homos! I'm gayer than a kiwi and a peach stuck in the closet together!" Fiyero said.

"Well, if they're still in the closet, their not gay!" Galidna yelled.

"Oz DAMNIT! I'm GAY!" Fiyero yelled.

"No...." Galinda paused as she took in deep breaths, "You're...(breath).....NOT!" Galinda finally made her way over to them and was huffing and puffing as she caught her breath dramatically to say the least. Elphaba and Fiyero got out of the hammock.

"Galinda why are you so persistent to prove that Daniel isn't gay?" asked Elphaba.

"Because!" Galinda whined.

"Because why?" asked Elphaba.

"Just because." Galinda said, "C'mon, he _can't_ be gay! His pants aren't tight enough."

"Honey, I am the biggest homo out there." said Fiyero, adding the 'honey' part for believability.

"No you're no—wait, did you just call me honey?" asked Galinda a little surprised, Daniel was starting to sound a _little_ gay now.

"Of course...sugar." said Fiyero, flicking his wrist, "Now where's that scarf I bought the othah day? It's getting a little chilly don't you think? It was the cutest scarf _evah_ too."

"Fine, if you're gay, you won't mind helping me pick out a boyfriend for Elphaba do you? Because you can't love Elphie because you're gay!" Galinda said. Fiyero froze at this. Elphaba? Get a new boyfriend? Be romantically involved with someone that wasn't him?

"Galinda, I really don't want a boyfriend." said Elphaba, "Maybe you and I could help Daniel here find a guy."

"What?" asked Fiyero, his thoughts stopping at Elphaba's words.

"Ooooh, the ultimate test!" Galinda said evilly, rubbing her hands together, "Mwa, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Fiyero and Elphaba took a step away from her as Galinda cackled in a very un-Galinda-like way evilly.

"This cannot be happening." Fiyero muttered.

"You're such a genius Elphie!" Galinda declared.

"Yep, because clearly, I'm not a genius." Fiyero sighed.


	25. It's YOUR ear

**(A/N: I don't think I took too terribly long to update this. Thank you if you reviewed/favorited or alerted! This chapter isn't very serious, and yeah....I hope you enjoy this! Thanks for reading and review if you will! Thanks)**

Elphaba quietly walked down to her father's study. She knocked lightly on the door before going in.

"Dad?" she asked softly. James instantly looked up when he heard her.

"Elphaba!" he said, setting his papers down and taking off his glasses.

"I uh....just came to apologize for...um what happened this morning." said Elphaba, eyes downcast.

"You don't need to apologize. But, what did happen?" asked James. Elphaba sighed before explaining to James why she'd reacted the way she had.

"Oh Elphaba, you know I'd never--" James began.

"I know, I know," said Elphaba, "I just panicked. Do you...forgive me?"

"Forgive you?" asked James, "You didn't do anything wrong." he got up and pulled her close in a hug, "I love you, you know that kid?" Elphaba smiled softly.

"Yeah, I know." she said, "And I love you."

*************

"ELPHIE!" Galinda screeched as she walked through the library.

"Over here." Elphaba said, not bothering to look up from her book.

"Elphie, today, we are going out into the Emerald City and we're finding Daniel _and_ you a boyfriend." said Galinda, "And if the right guy pops, maybe I'll get a guy too."

"Galinda..." Elphaba began, not too keen on getting a boyfriend.

"Elphie, I know you loved Fiyero, but...it just...didn't work. Do you want to spend the rest of your life being sad over _him_?" asked Galinda, "He obviously couldn't care less about your feelings, you should just forget him and move on. There are _other_ guys Elphie."

"I know." Elphaba sighed, "Ok, if you find a guy that you think might be good with me and I approve of, maybe I'll give it a chance." Maybe Galinda was right, maybe it was time to move on. Deep down, Elphaba knew that she couldn't just _move on_, that even though Fiyero didn't want her, she'd always want him that no other guy could make her feel as wonderful as he did. But she needed to get a grip and forget about him, and what better way to forget than finding someone new to distract her?

***********

Elphaba, Daniel and Galinda were walking through the Emerald City looking for boyfriends, even though the only one really interested was Galinda. Fiyero started walking with a swing in his hips and a pinky pointing up. He felt incredibly ridiculous, but now it was really impossible to forget he couldn't be with Elphaba. He was perturbed to say the least that Elphaba was interested in starting a relationship....with someone....other than him. Damn it, Fiyero was so fucking jealous and she hadn't even started a relationship with anyone. He was just jealous that any other guy actually had a _chance_ with her.

"How about him Danny?" asked Galinda, "He looks gay."

"Uh...yeah, he's...um....delicious." said Fiyero, looking over at the guy. It was a blond wearing super tight, super short shorts, a hot pink tank top and a homo scarf.

"You don't sound too enthused." Galinda muttered, "Or....GAY!"

"I AM!" Fiyero yelled, "I AM GAY!" everyone in the Emerald City seemed to stop and stare at Fiyero. Fiyero sighed heavily, "Yes people, I am gay!" he told them all, "Now go about your business." The people muttered to each other and then went about their business. Elphaba and Galinda were laughing hard and Fiyero turned around and glared at Galinda who just kept laughing, leaning on a bench to keep from falling over.

"He doesn't _look_ like a closet case..." someone murmured.

"Cause he isn't!" Galinda muttered so that Fiyero heard her.

"Am too." he growled.

"Are--"

"Don't start!" Elphaba said, covering her ears. They both shut up, glaring at each other first and then sending Elphaba apologetic glances....and then glaring at each other again. Fiyero realized he had to be more believable, so he made a plan to step up his game and make Galinda crumple. He went over to the guy with the tight pants, pink tank top and homo scarf who was stick thin and stood with his hand on his hips.

"Hey sugar." said Fiyero sexily and grabbed his ass. The guy jumped.

"Dude, I'm not even gay!" said the guy.

"What the hell?" asked Fiyero, "Bitch ya!"

"Fuck no!" said the guy, snapping his fingers. Not wanting to be outdone, Fiyero snapped his fingers twice and then in Z-formation before bringing his hand back to rest on his hip. The guy just stared at Fiyero before starting to walk away moodily and muttering under his breath, "Gawd, why does ev-ary-one think I'm effing gay?!"

"Maybe it's cause yah swish yo booty when you walk!" Fiyero called after him. The guy turned around and gave Fiyero the finger before continuing on his way. Fiyero rolled his eyes as he walked back to Elphaba and Galinda. Galinda looked shocked and then started laughing, Elphaba soon to follow.

"Ooh!" Galinda suddenly squealed, looking across the street where a noble was seen getting out of a carriage. He was handsome and young, probably about Fiyero's age. He had green eyes and blonde hair. Galinda quickly scurried across the street and went in front of the guy.

"Hi. Do you like books?" she asked.

"Uh...yes." he replied, looking a little confused.

"Great! Elphie will love you! My name is Galinda Upland, of the Upper Uplands you know, and I'm trying to set my friend up with a boyfriend and I think she'd like you, so would you meet her at the French Café in like....five minutes for lunch?" asked Galinda.

"Um....sure." he said.

"Great, I'll tell her to meet you there. I'll tell her you'll be by the window with this book." she said, handing him a book she'd bought earlier that day, "Oh and don't lose it, I need to out somebody." she said. He looked at the book and his eyebrow rose at the title: "How to Tell if Someone is Fake Gay or Real Gay".

"Um..." he said. Just then, Daniel appeared by Galinda.

"What's going on?" he asked, glaring at the guy.

"I just set Elphie up on a blind date with him!" Galinda hissed in his ear.

"What? He can't go on a date with--" Fiyero began.

"Yes he can!" Galinda hissed, jabbing him in the ribs. Fiyero was about to interject when Galinda suddenly pushed him into a group of gay tourists. They all but carried him halfway down the block asking if they could take him to the salon and give him highlights and paint his nails and whether or not he thought Adam Lambert should have won Ozian Idol (because he totally should have!). When Fiyero finally escaped the gays, he ran back to where Galinda was but she'd crossed the street and was talking to Elphaba, seemingly arguing. Fiyero tried to cross but it seemed a rush of carriages came rolling down the street.

"Oh c'mon!" Fiyero yelled at the carriages, "Can't you just let a guy cross the street?" He saw a rush of gay guys coming back for him, there scarves whipping in the wind and their brightly colored fedoras bouncing on their heads. Fiyero's eyes widened, "Oh, for the love of Oz! Please let me cross before I get attacked again!" Just as the gays were about to run into him, a nice carriage driver stopped to let him cross and the gays all ran into a light post as Fiyero crossed the street, their fedoras flying off and rolling around on the sidewalk. Fiyero ran across the street but by the time he got over there, it seemed Galinda had already convinced Elphaba to go on the date and she was gone.

"Damn it Galinda!" Fiyero said, fixing his cap, but Galinda hadn't seen anything.

"They went to the French Café," Galinda hissed and grabbed his collar, "C'mon, we're following them."

"Why are we running?" asked Fiyero, "It's only a block away!"

"We have to get there before Elphie!" Galinda said.

"Why?" asked Fiyero.

"So we can watch them meet and see if it's love at first sight!" Galinda yelled at him.

"Wha--" but they already reached the restaurant. Galinda scanned it and smiled when she realized she'd beaten Elphaba. The guy Galinda had set her up with was in his designated area by the window, the book perched on the table.

"Two please." Galinda said.

"Right this way Miss." said the waiter, he started in one direction.

"Um, could we have a window seat?" asked Galinda, "The non-window seats are bad for my...teeth."

"Um...certainly Miss." said the waiter, a confused look on his face. He changed directions and began walking towards Elphaba's date's table. As they walked Galinda grabbed the two menus the waiter was holding and hid her face behind it, she handed Daniel one too and he did the same. Their table was to the side of Elphaba's date's table, rather than back to back, so they could see easily without being caught. Galinda quickly made a wall with the menus and leaned down and hit Daniel on the head so he'd lean down too.

"Ow!" Fiyero said, "Why do I get the feeling you do this type of thing a lot?"

"Shut up!" Galinda hissed.

"You!"

"You!"

"You!"

"SHHHH!" they both hissed at the same time when they saw Elphaba enter. She walked over to the table beside Galinda and Fiyero.

"Um...are you my...date?" she asked shyly. He looked up and blinked a couple times, seemingly in shock.

"Elphaba?" he asked.

"Brennan?" Elphaba asked.

"Wow, I thought I'd never see you again." Brennan said, "You look _great_."

"Damn straight she looks great. What are they? Ex-lovers?" Fiyero muttered, but was silenced by Galinda's icicle heel to his foot.

"Thanks." Elphaba blushed, "It's great to see you, I barely recognized you. You look so much--"

"Better?" asked Brennan, chuckling.

"I was going to say older..." Elphaba laughed, "But better too." she admitted. Brennan gave her a hug and to Fiyero's surprise Elphaba hugged him back. He glared at Brennan. They sat down and ordered.

"So...what happened to you since you left Munchkinland?" asked Elphaba.

"Well, nobody would've thought that Nobleman Visory's son could look so ugly as I did--"

"He was ugly?" Galinda whispered with disbelief, because now the guy was h-o-t.

"Shh!" Fiyero hissed at her.

"—Wait, you're Fredrick's brother?" asked Elphaba.

"Yeah," said Brennan, "Pretty weird, huh? So I went abroad to study politics and now I'm up for one of the two senate seats with my brother."

"Wow." said Elphaba, "I never would've guessed you were a Visory, I guess you never told me your last name."

"Well what about you? I suppose I should be calling you princess Elphaba now hmm?" asked Brennan, smiling.

"That's right pal, keep it formal." Fiyero hissed.

"Shut up!" Galinda hissed.

"No, Elphaba's still fine." said Elphaba, laughing slightly.

"Can I take your orders?" the waiter asked Galinda and Fiyero.

"SHH!" they both hissed at him. Galinda grabbed the waiter and yanked him down so that she could talk to him without being seen by Elphaba or Brennan.

"I'll have spaghetti with a side salad and he'll have the same." Galinda hissed in his ear.

"Alright, I'll take your menus." said the waiter, reaching to take the menus.

"NO!" Galinda hissed, knocking him over, "I need them to order desert later!"

"Well, I could bring them back after your meal..."

"Don't touch my menus!" Galinda shriek-whispered.

"You'd better not touch those menus." Fiyero warned. The waiter took a step back and nodded before walking away...more like running really.

"Great." said Brennan, "So, you're friend seems nice."

"Galinda?" asked Elphaba.

"Oooh! They're talking about me!" Galinda squealed.

"Shut up!" Fiyero hissed.

"No, you shut up!"

"No, you."

"No, you."

"No, you."

"No, me!"

"Yeah, you."

"Wha--? I meant you!"

"Shhh!" they both hissed at the same time before peering back over their menus.

"Yeah, she just came over to me and started talking about how she was trying to find a boyfriend for her friend." said Brennan, "She didn't really give me time to talk or disagree, so I said I'd go."

"Well, I don't think we could date _now_, it'd be really weird don't you think? Another one of Galinda's match makings techniques shot down." said Elphaba, smiling.

"Yeah, not just weird, but straight out _uncalled_ for and--" Fiyero began, but Galinda kicked him again under the table.

"Well, maybe it wouldn't...?" said Brennan, "I mean, we could try to date, I don't think it'd be too awkward." Just then, the waiter brought Fiyero and Galinda their food. Upon hearing Brennan's suggestive comment, Fiyero took a carrot out of his salad and pitched it at Brennan. It hit him in the forehead.

"Why did you do that?!" Galinda hissed as Brennan looked around confusedly.

"He was getting on my nerves!"

"Well, you're getting on my nerves."

"It must be all my gay nervy stuff."

"That didn't even make sense!"

"Your face doesn't even make sense."

"Shut up!"

"Make your face shut up!"

"Stop saying your face!"

"Make you face stop...saying your face."

"You're not even gay!"

"You're face isn't even gay!"

"WTF?!"

*************

"Well, maybe." said Elphaba shyly.

"Just tell me if you ever change your mind." said Brennan, he took Elphaba's hand on the table. Fiyero got a _little_ pissed at that. A waiter walked by and Fiyero pushed him into Brennan. Brennan fell out of his seat and the waiter fell on top of him. Fiyero ducked under the table as they were getting up. Galinda laughed but then realized that with Daniel under the table, it would look like _she'd_ pushed the waiter, so she had no choice but to duck under the table too. There's heads bumped under the table.

"You idiot!" Galinda hissed at him, "Now I can't hear what they're saying because of the damn tablecloth!"

"Well put your ear on the outside, no one will notice." said Fiyero.

"Fine!"

"Your fac--" Fiyero started.

"No yours!" Galinda snapped and they both shut up as they leaned down to put their ear on the outside of the tablecloth. Their faces pressed against the floor comically and one of their ears stuck out. So there was their nice circular table, that appeared no one was sitting at, and as you walked by you'd look at the spaghetti and the side salads and the candle in the middle. Then you'd notice the two menus propped up nicely on the side, you'd look at the nice white tablecloth and finally you'd see two ears sticking out beneath it. Wait, what?! EARS?! Suddenly, Fiyero heard Elphaba's voice.

"Um, are those _ears_?" she asked.

"Damn it Galinda, you let them see your ear!" Fiyero hissed.

"That's not my ear, that's your ear that everyone's looking at!" Galinda said.

"Not it's your ear!" Fiyero said.

"No, it's yours!"

"Yours!" Suddenly Fiyero felt a poke on his ear, "Never mind, it was my ear."

"Told you so!" Galinda said.

"Your face!"

"AGH!" Galinda shrieked in exasperation. They both sat back up so their ears weren't showing.

"Great, now I can't hear again." Galinda said, "Thanks to you and your big ass ear!"


	26. Battles

**(A/N: I just realized I haven't updated this in a long time. You guys can thank Alice Inn is 'Not That Girl' for this chapter, she finally got me writing again! This is a serious chapter and a lot of insight to the characters feelings and minds in this, mostly Fiyero. This is boring, but it is a chapter to help build the relationships and characters of the story. Please review if you will!)**

After going on a date, Elphaba realized she hadn't moved on and that she really wasn't ready to date or get involved with anyone. She had felt no attraction to Brennan, but even so, throughout the entirety of the date, she'd felt guilty and like she was cheating on Fiyero, even though she and Fiyero were no more. She remembered being immensely relieved when she realized Brennan and her were old friends and could never date, it'd be too awkward. Brennan agreed to that they weren't interested in each other that way. She let Brennan walk her back to the palace, a trail of paparazzi was behind them and Elphaba fought the urge to whirl around and break their cameras. When Brennan put his hand in hers, she let him, because she thought it was a friendly gesture.

***********

Fiyero and Galinda were trailing behind Elphaba and Brennan as they walked back to the palace. They mingled with the paparazzi who were terrible at hiding in bushes and behind street signs.

"Omigod!" Galinda squealed, "They're holding hands!"

"What?!" Fiyero cried, pushing a man out of the way and staring open-mouthed at the two before him. They looked like a couple enjoying a nightly stroll in the Emerald City, they looked like him and Elphaba on the beach, holding hands like they were now. Fiyero wanted to rip his hand out of hers and make sure he never touched her again. Fiyero spluttered and gasped and fought for words to express his anger and immense resentment, but he couldn't find anything to say, so for once, he remained silent. Galinda looked at him, looking as though she was ready to retort to any comment he might make, but to her surprise, he wasn't saying anything.

"Daniel what's wrong?" she asked softly, putting a hand on his shoulder and they stopped walking, letting the paparazzi run ahead of them. Daniel seemed frozen, as though just realizing some terrible truth. He didn't respond to Galinda and just shrugged her hand off.

"What do you care?" he asked coldly and then brushed past her, leaving her standing in the middle of the sidewalk, dumbfounded as to what had happened to make him so upset. Fiyero walked through the streets, hands shoved deep in his pockets and cap pulled down lower. He hurt all over, his head, his arms, his legs—his heart. He was in so much pain and he just wanted it all to go away. He wasn't mad at Elphaba, no he could never be mad at her, it was Brennan he was angry with and Frex and himself for letting her go without a fight, because he couldn't fight. That was what sickened him, he was fighting for her life, but he couldn't fight for her love. At first he'd wondered why nothing could be won without a battle, now that he was ready to fight a battle, he had to choose between which to fight. How unfair was it that he had to fight and choose at the same time? Why did he have to just stand by and watch while someone else fought the battle he'd already won? He didn't realize he'd strayed back to the palace until he heard voices. Elphaba and Brennan were at the doorway. She was smiling at him and he was smiling back, but differently somehow.

"Even though the dating part was a disaster, I'm glad I caught up with you." said Elphaba, "You were always a good friend and I hope you continue to be."

"Thanks." said Brennan, "Will I see you again anytime soon?"

"Come to the palace anytime you like, you're welcome to come." she said.

"I will, thank you." he said, "But for now, goodnight Elphaba, sweet dreams." he kissed her hand and departed. Elphaba stared after him, a shocked look on her face and she looked back at the hand he'd kissed. She finally turned away and went inside, closing the door. Fiyero felt another stab to his heart as he'd watched the intimate scene between them. He groaned as he leaned away, not wanting to go back to the palace. He wandered through the Emerald City instead, not going anywhere, but everywhere at the same time.

***********

Galinda stared at Daniel's retreating back. What had happened? He'd seemed fine earlier, except for that annoyance and anger she could always sense, but she had always thought he did that for the sake of arguing. Could Daniel really be hurt inside? Was it because she kept calling him straight? Was it because he wasn't really gay and was in love with Elphaba? Why was he so—Galinda was about to think 'angry', but then with a sudden jolt she realized that was the wrong word, he was angry per se, well he was, but beneath all that, he was incredibly sad and miserable. But why? She began to follow after him, wanting to comfort him but with a start, she realized he'd vanished. She couldn't' go wandering through the Emerald City at this late hour, especially not by herself. But she wanted to find Daniel. She wandered a while, an hour at least and couldn't find him, so she made her way back to the palace, hoping he'd be there. She walked inside wearily and was hit with a force, an embrace actually.

"I was so worried about you!" Elphaba said, "Where in Oz's name have you been?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry to worrify you Elphie," Galinda said, "But I was out looking for Daniel."

"What?" asked Elphaba, slightly shocked, then she registered the information, "Where is he?!" she asked urgently.

"I don't know!" Galinda cried.

************

Fiyero looked up at the sky and saw a gentle glow on the horizon. It was still mostly dark, but a slight pinkish glow was there. He sighed, it was nearly dawn, he'd ben out all night. He started to trudge back to the palace. He made it back in about twenty minutes, exhausted and dirty from falling a lot in his sleepy, heartbroken haze. He opened the door and was shocked when he felt someone hit him. No, they weren't hitting him—

*************

Elphaba had been waiting at the door ever since Galinda came home without Daniel. She had set a chair up there and waited, staring at the door. The door finally opened and she saw the familiar brown cap and she leapt forward, throwing her arms around Daniel.

"I was so scared something had happened to you!" she nearly yelled at him, relief washing through her, "You are so stupid, you stupid---I don't even know, I'm just glad you're ok, because if you weren't, I would go and find your dead body and then kill it again and then wake you up so I could yell at you, then kill you again!"

"Elphaba, it's ok, I'm fine." said Fiyero, putting his arms around her. He felt a wave of happiness and emotion flow through him at the concern and obvious caring in Elphaba's voice. Sure she was threatening him, but he could tell she really had been worried about him, so much. He realized with a shock that he'd forgotten how good it'd felt to hold her in his arms; her holding onto him and him holding her. It felt good and Fiyero closed his eyes, realizing that he had been wrong before. He could fight two opposing battles. He'd already won her love before, he could do it again, even with more competition. Brennan was nothing and he would always be nothing to him and Elphaba, Fiyero would fight his hardest to make sure.

**********

Galinda watched from behind a pillar as Daniel walked in and Elphaba ran to him and hugged him, nearly crying with relief. She'd been watching Elphaba watch the door for a while now and she knew that Elphaba was falling for Daniel. It was clear to her now. Daniel wasn't gay, of course he wasn't, he was only saying that because for some reason he didn't want Elphaba to fall for him, but he also couldn't fall for her. Galinda didn't know why he restricted himself so, but it had to be import, because she could tell it was tearing at Daniel's insides just to watch her hold hands with anyone else. Elphaba she could tell was going to feel guilty right after she pulled out of the embrace, she would be thinking of Fiyero, like always. Sometimes Galinda just wanted to hurt Fiyero Tiggular, for hurting Elphaba. But right now she need to focus on this confusing love story between Elphaba and Daniel, and it seemed Brennan too. Daniel had a secret, Galinda knew he did, but she just had to figure out what.


	27. The Yawn and Stretch

**(A/N: thank you if you reviewed! And now for the next chapter. Some of it you won't get unless you've seen legally blonde, so sorry, but I couldn't resist! If you haven't seen it you can go on youtube and watch gay or european and the bend and snap (from the musical). ANYWAY, this chapter is definitley not a serious one, but in a while, this story might take a serious emotional turn, so if you'll keep your arms and legs in the ride at all terms, I'm sure you'll enjoy it anyway :) **

Brennan was over again, eating lunch on the balcony with Elphaba, Galinda and a very pissed off Fiyero—er, Daniel I mean. Nessa and Fredrick had dropped in too, Fredrick having a nice reunion with Brennan, or whatever you call it when two brothers see each other after a long time and awkwardly embrace before striking up a conversation about Oz-forsaken politics. Fiyero had never been in this situation, he'd never been the poor, servant in the bunch of royals and nobles. He'd always been the prince, the highest in society. How odd did he feel every time Fredrick or Nessa, even Galinda sometimes sent him sympathetic glances. But when Brennan sent him sympathetic glances, Fiyero just wanted to strangle him.

"Elphaba, you look very beautiful today." said Brennan. Fiyero rolled his eyes, but kept them in glare mode at the same time. The arse, pulling beautiful lines, who did he think he was?

"Thank you." said Elphaba, a light pink tint creeping into her cheeks. Fiyero loved it when she blushed, but only when he was the one that made her do it.

"Yeah, suck up to the princess. Perhaps you've brought her a nice red apple?" Fiyero said, his tone light enough that it could pass as a joke. The others laughed and Brennan made an attempt to laugh, but it sounded more like the sound a sick kitten makes after being run over by a carriage and then being hugged to death by Galinda for its cuteness. Fiyero laughed for a different reason then everyone else, he loved to watch Brennan get embarrassed in front of Elphaba.

"You know what we should do?" asked Nessa all of a sudden.

"What's that?" asked Elphaba.

"Well, there's this new show that just came out on Ozway, it's called Legally Blonde the Musical. I hear it's just brilliant." said Nessa, "And you'll like Daniel, it's a musical." Brennan coughed, trying to conceal a laugh and Galinda smirked.

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll be ever most fond of it." Fiyero muttered sarcastically.

"Isn't it one of those things where you have to buy tickets ahead of time?" asked Elphaba.

"Please, Elphie, you're the princess of friggin' Oz, if you want to see an Ozway show, then people will go out of their way to make sure you see an Ozway show. And the rest of us will get in by association." Galinda said.

"Well, when does the show start?" asked Elphaba.

"We could make the afternoon showing in ten minutes." said Nessa excitedly and they all agreed and made their way to the theater.

************

Front row seats, of course. Elphaba was between Daniel and Brennan, Fredrick was next to Brennan and Nessa was next to Fredrick and Galinda was on the other side of Daniel.

"Tell me what this is about again." said Elphaba to Daniel. Fiyero was about to answer when Galinda interrupted him.

"BLONDES!" she squealed.

"Oh yeah, that's right." Elphaba laughed. The lights dimmed and the curtains rose, showing a great big sorority house with delt nu written across it. A window burst open and a girl started singing, writing a letter. The window next to hers burst open and that girl starting singing.

"Dear Elle, honey, Mazel Tov, future's taking off, bring that ring back and show it to me!"

"Four carats of princess cut, are you psyched or what?! I just wish I could be there to see, when he gets down on one knee!"

"Oh. My. Oz. Omioz you guys, looks like Elle's gonna win the prize. If there ever was a perfect couple this one qualifies, omioz you guys....."

**********

The show was half way through the first act. Galinda was bouncing to the rhythm of the music and shouting things out like: "You go girl!" or "Omioz!" every once in a while. Elphaba was watching intently, Daniel and Brennan were glaring at each other, Nessa was bobbing her head and dancing really badly in her wheelchair to the movement (and because she was in a wheelchair, he dancing consisted of mainly really awful, bizarre and hazardous arm movements. [she'd already knocked out two ushers and had hit Fredrick several times in the face...]). Fredrick was trying to pull Nessa's arms down, but was also trying to shield his face and watch the show.

Almost in synchronization, Fiyero and Brennan stopped glaring at each other and turned their heads to look at the front, trying not to look 'up-to-something'. And then, again in perfect synchronization, they stretched their arms up and yawned (in a totally fake way) and then slowly began to let their arm closest to Elphaba fall on her shoulders (Elphaba was oblivious to all of this and Daniel and Brennan were so busy trying to look inconspicuous by looking straight ahead they didn't notice the other). Their arms hit as they almost touched Elphaba's shoulders. They looked at each other startled and then glared at each other. In one swift movement, they both brought their arms down, but Brennan beat Fiyero and so he was the one that got to keep his arm around Elphaba during the rest of the first act. Well, Fiyero thought, just wait till act two, just you wait Brennan Visory, just you wait, you'll be sorry but you're tears'll be too late (whoops, sorry, got carried away!)

Intermission came and with that, came some good old silent fighting.

"So Elphaba, did you like the show?" asked Brennan and Fiyero at the same time.

"Oh yes, it's very good so far." said Elphaba, smiling at their synchronization.

"Yeah, I think so to, what's your favorite song so far?" they asked at the same time. They both glared at each other, "Stop saying what I'm saying!" they said at the same time. Brennan and Fiyero had a glare down show down and Elphaba and Galinda had a laugh attack heart attack.

"Ooh! I just have to buy some souvenirs!" Galinda chirped, dragging Elphaba over to a stand in the lobby, "We'll be right back!" Normally, Fiyero would've gone with them to be with Elphaba, but he had some words he wanted to say to _Brennan_.

"Look, she's already told you she's not interested in you, so why are you still hitting on her?" asked Daniel.

"Me? What about you? And you're gay!" Brennan shot back.

"What?!"

"Don't even try to act all innocent! You've been using my moves on her all day." said Brennan.

"Whoa, wait just one clock tick, _you're_ moves? Really man? I invented the yawn and stretch!"

"No you didn't!" Brennan said.

"You don't even do it right." said Fiyero, "It's yaaaaaaaawn....and stretch!" Fiyero demonstrated and put his arm around Brennan, and that's how Elphaba and Galinda found them when they got back, Fiyero's arm around Brennan's shoulders in a very....odd way.

"Oh, are you two....?" asked Elphaba and Galinda at the same time, exchange glances.

"NO!" they both jumped away from each other.

"Then what were you doing?" asked Elphaba.

"Omioz!" Galinda exclaimed, "I know _exactly_ what was going on!"

"You do?" everyone's eyebrow rose.

"Daniel here was just teaching our good friend Brennan, the yawn and stretch." said Galinda, rolling her eyes, "Duh, how did it take me so long to figure that out?"

"The yawn and stretch?" asked Elphaba.

"It's like the guy version of the bend and snap." said Galinda, "You know."

"The bend and snap?" asked Elphaba.

"Act two, honey." Galinda patted her shoulder.

"Oh, the yawn and stretch," said Fredrick, coming by with Nessa, "You know, it has a 98% rate of getting a girl--" Nessa hit him, "Ow!"

**********

"Ooh, my favorite song is coming up!" Galinda chirped as a new scene came into play. She kept glancing at Fiyero and smiling evilly. Fiyero wandered what she was so happy about. Then the song started and Fiyero knew why.

"You see they bring their boys up different in those charming foreign ports, they play peculiar sport in shiny shirts and tiny shorts." they sang.

"Gay or foreign fella, the answer could take weeks, they both say things like ciao bella while they kiss you on both cheeks."

"Depending on the time of the day the French go either way."

"Gay or European?"

"So stylish and relaxed!"

"Is he gay or European?"

"I think his chest is waxed."

"But they bring their boys up different there it's culturally diverse. It's not a fashion curse if he wears a kilt or bears a purse."

"Gay or just exotic, I still can't crack the code!"

"Yet his accent is hypnotic! But his shoes are pointy toed.

"Huh."

...

"GAY!"

***********

"So _that's_ the bend and snap." said Elphaba after the show.

"Here, watch me." said Galinda, "Beeeeeeeennnnnnnnd....and snap!" she demonstrated.

"Damn!"

**********

As they began to walk down the street back to the palace, they came across a man dressed in all white long flowling robes, a beard going all the way down the sidewalk. He wore a turban and had a very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very confused look on his face.

"Um sir? Are you alright?" asked Elphaba.

"I am looking for my lover, Fred, I am the Almighty...." the man looked skyward dramatically, "...Bob."


	28. You're Not Him

**(A/N: thanks if you reviewed! This is short I think, but emotional and stuff. I hope you like! Please review!)**

Brennan came to the palace again the next day, a look on his face that said he had a specific mission. Elphaba opened the door for him.

"Oh, hey Brennan, I wasn't expecting you--"

"One date." said Brennan.

"Excuse me?" asked Elphaba.

"Just give me one date with you. I really like you Elphaba, and I want to give us a try." Brennan said, taking her hand. James, Galinda and Daniel were all listening from around the corner, "I've tried to just think about you as a friend, to be friends and everything, but I can't. I just..."

"Oh, I don't know Brennan...." Elphaba said softly, looking down. He touched her chin and she looked back up at him.

"One date." he said. She looked back down.

"I thought—I thought you just wanted to be friends." she muttered.

"Couldn't we try to be more?"

"I've already been in one relationship before, and I thought it was real, but it turned out...it wasn't. I don't want our friendship to end or anyone to get hurt." Elphaba said, looking back at him.

"Oh, are you not ready for something like this?" asked Brennan.

"Excuse me, Brennan, I need to tell Elphie something, you just stay, standing right there." she pulled Elphaba behind the corner where Daniel and James were standing. Daniel looked like he'd just been punched in the gut.

"Daniel, are you ok?" asked Elphaba.

"F-fine." Fiyero managed to say. What did she man she _thought_ the relationship had been real? It had been, it had been everything. He felt terrible that it still hurt her, even now.

"You don't sound fine." Elphaba said, concern in every crevice of her voice.

"He's fine." said Galinda and Fiyero silently thanked her for speaking for him, because he didn't know if he could at the moment.

"Elphaba, you should say yes." said James, "I know you and Fiyero were in love, but Fiyero's not coming back. You should give Brennan a chance."

"You think?" Elphaba asked. Galinda and James nodded, "I suppose I could just try to be with someone...else." Elphaba walked back to where Brennan was, "I suppose one date couldn't hurt. But if it doesn't work, you won't...hate me will you?"

"No, I could never hate you." Brennan said softly, "Thank you, for giving me a chance."

************

As much as Fiyero hated to see them together, as much as it killed him, he had to watch. He discreetly followed them as they walked down past the city part of the Emerald City to the lakes. By the lake shore's were little shops, much like the ones in the Vinkus at the plaza. He held her hand as they walked together and then they stopped at an ice cream parlor. He sat at the table next to them, a newspaper in his face. He felt like such a stalker, but he had to know that she couldn't possibly give her heart to...._Brennan_... to anyone really.

"Mm, thanks for the ice cream." said Elphaba, licking her spoon.

"My pleasure." said Brennan, "It's good." Elphaba was hit with a wave of familiarity as she looked at the ice cream parlor, it looked almost exactly like the one she frequented in the Vinkus, back when Fiyero—

"So, you and Fiyero...you were very...?" Brennan began, not knowing how to word his sentence.

"I don't want to talk about him." Elphaba said quickly. Fiyero felt a pang to his heart at her bitter words.

"Oh, I'm sorry." said Brennan, "Hey, I saw you reading a book the other day, so I got you the next one in the series." he handed her the book. Fiyero felt his blood run cold, he was giving her a book? _Fiyero_ gave her books, not Brennan. Fiyero flipped the edge of the newspaper over only slightly so he could see the book, it was Harry Potter.

"Oh, thanks Brennan." said Elphaba, "That's so thoughtful of you." she accepted the book, it reminded her of Fiyero. This whole date just said Fiyero. It was killing her.

"Do you want to head down to the lake?" he asked.

"Sure." she sighed, taking his hand. When she held his hand, she was always reminded that he wasn't Fiyero, because Fiyero's hands were different when they held hers. She didn't know what the difference was exactly, but she'd memorized the feel of her hand in his.

************

They walked around the shore of the lake, hands entwined tightly. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked. Suddenly, she was fighting back tears as she was reminded strongly of those precious Sunday's with Fiyero.

"Can we stop walking?" she asked, "I'm getting tired." she said. Maybe if she stopped walking with him on the shore, she'd forget Fiyero.

"Sure." said Brennan, "There's a rock over there." he led her over to the large rock and they sat there together, watching the sunset. No, this was not helping, this just made those Sunday's the ever more clear, so she tried to read her book to take her mind off of things. This definitely didn't help, she always read books at sunset with Fiyero, on a rock, by the ocean, not with Brennan. Brennan wasn't Fiyero, he wasn't ever going to be, no one ever would be. Suddenly, Elphaba found she fighting back tears again. She couldn't handle this.

"Brennan, I want to go home." she said, her voice had her tears in it.

"What why?" asked Brennan, startled.

"I just—can't stay here." she said.

"By the lake? We could go somewhere else." he said.

"No, it's not the lake, well, it is, it's everything! I just want to go home." she said.

"Ok, wait, why are you crying? Did I do something wrong?" he asked, panicking. He took her hands in his.

"No!" Elphaba pulled away from him, letting the tears fall, she tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming, "No, you're doing everything _right_!" she cried, "And you're not supposed to do everything right and make everything so perfect, _Fiyero_ is supposed to do that, and...You're. Not. Fiyero. You're not him. The lake and the sunset, getting ice cream and giving her books and sitting with me and reading them, you're not supposed to do this, this is what I do with Fiyero and _you're not him_." tears were coming faster now, and they burned lightly. Fiyero watched from behind a tree, listening intently.

"You still love him." Brennan said gently, not mad at her at all.

"No—I..." Elphaba began, "Well...of course I do! And he just—he just...left me! He promised me –to-t-to always be there, and he's not here, but you are, but this is where _he_ should be. This is _our_ thing and it's just _so_ wrong with anyone else." she cried harder and Brennan quickly went to her and brushed away her tears and rubbed her back. Fiyero felt his heart soaring and falling at the same time. He was so angry with himself for making her feel so terrible, but she still loved him, she always would. Fiyero wanted to go to her and tell her that this could still be their thing, they _would_ be together forever. He was supposed to be the man she cried on, he was supposed to be the one to comfort her when she was sad, he wasn't supposed to be the reason she was sad.

"I'll take you home now." said Brennan softly, helping her stand up and jump down from the rock.

*************

"I'm sorry things didn't work out." said Elphaba, "I'm sorry--"

"Shh, you don't have to apologize." said Brennan, "It's fine, I'm ok, I just hope you'll be. I'll see you later, ok?"

"Ok." Elphaba went back inside and Brennan left. Fiyero had gotten home before them, and was pretending to clean a window while he waited for Elphaba to get back. Galinda had been waiting to. She leapt at Elphaba when she walked in.

"So?" she asked, "How was it?" then she noticed Elphaba had been crying, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"He's not Fiyero." was all she said, before running up to her room.


	29. 11:59

**(A/N: WOW! Three updates for my stories in one day? Pretty awesome right? Well, for me anyway. SO--this chapter is pretty uber changifying. Things are going to get...complicated and stuff! Oooh! I hope you enjoy this and please review!)**

Elphaba didn't come out of her room until sometime around lunch the next day. Brennan didn't come back the next day. He would've, but Galinda told him not to come back so soon. Elphaba walked downstairs, rubbing her eyes. Fiyero saw her from where he was in the hall, cleaning the windows. She looked adorable when she was half asleep.

"Hey Princess!" he called. She turned around and gave him a bleary smile.

"Hey Daniel." she said, walking over to him.

"Are you ok?" asked Fiyero.

"I'm fine." said Elphaba, "I just wish...I wish people would stop pressuring me into dating and finding someone new. They just don't understand that I don't want to be with anyone...but him." she sighed, "I sound really pathetic don't I? I mean, he left me, he doesn't want to be with me, that much is obvious, but I still—I still can't breathe without him, I can't live without him."

"Maybe he had a good reason." said Daniel gently, "Maybe he had no choice but to not come back."

"Sure." Elphaba said sarcastically, "Like it was really a hard decision to choose between leaving the green freak or staying with her."

"Don't say that!" Fiyero groaned, "He loved you, he still does."

"How could you know?" asked Elphaba, "You don't even know who I'm talking about."

"He'd be crazy not to love you." said Fiyero, "Don't you know how amazing you are?"

***************

Frex summoned his followers in the Vinkun castle.

"Alright, next week, there is to be a masquerade ball at the palace." said Frex, "That will be the night we strike."

"What's the plan again?" asked someone.

"We're all going to be there, along with the men that are already at the palace and have been for a while. We'll all be masked of course, there are various ways of getting in, for most of you though, I have fake invitations. You'll be stationed in the ballroom where all the guests will be. At exactly midnight when the masks come off, we're going to make sure everyone stays in the palace, lock the doors, you'll all have their guns, just scare them a bit with those. A few of you will grab Elphaba and take her to the East Tower and lock her in, two inside and two outside and make sure she _doesn't get out_. A few others of you will get the Wizard and take him to the West Tower and lock him in if you can, if his men save the Wizard, then it's full blown war, but if we succeed in getting Elphaba, we've got the number one hostage. With her still in the palace, it will force the Wizard and his men out and he'll have to set up somewhere else, battles will occur wherever a fight strikes up, but we will win and then Oz will be ours." said Frex. There was a loud cheer and Frex smiled evilly, yes, he'd win this war and after that Elphaba and Oz would be his.

************

Later that day, Elphaba and Daniel lay together again on the hammock at sunset this time; her head on his chest and his arm wrapped around her tightly. He didn't know how much longer he could go on with this. He needed to tell her, better yet, he wanted her to find out herself. He wanted to be with her again, and actually _be_ with her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead absentmindedly. For a moment, Elphaba thought she was back with Fiyero on one of those Sunday's while she read and he pressed kisses to her forehead everyone once and a while as he played with her hair or read with her. She looked up, her heart beating, half expecting it to be Fiyero, it felt so much like him, she'd memorized what it felt like to be in Fiyero's arms and she felt like she was in his arms right now! She looked up and her heart deflated, it was only Daniel, but he felt so much like Fiyero, he was like him in so many ways!

"You remind me so much of him." she told him.

"Really?" asked Fiyero softly.

"Mm hmm." she nodded, "I don't know if that's a good thing or not though."

"I'd hope a good thing." Daniel chuckled.

"I suppose." said Elphaba, playing with his hand, tracing the lines on his palm, "I miss him so much." she whispered. _I love you so much Elphaba_, Fiyero wished she could hear him, but of course she couldn't. He fought back tears and pressed another kiss to her forehead.

*************

The next day was to be a masquerade ball and of course, Galinda was bouncing off the walls with excitement.

"A MASQUERADE!" she kept squealing.

"You see, I don't think I even need a mask, I'm green, people are going to know it's me anyway." said Elphaba, shrugging.

"But Elphie, wearing a mask is the best part!" Galinda said, "And you've got to wear one."

"Fine, I will, to amuse you." Elphaba muttered.

"Oh really, you would?" asked Galinda.

"Yes Galinda." Elphaba sighed.

*************

It was the night of the masquerade ball and David and Fiyero were just slipping on their masks. Fiyero finally got a chance to take off his hat, for he was substituting it with the black mask. He slipped it on and straightened his jacket. Even the servants were given masks. He walked into the hall and saw David walking out of his room as well.

"I saw you yesterday with the princess." said David.

"And?" asked Fiyero, "I didn't do anything or tell her who I was."

"You are this close Fiyero." David said, making a mark with his fingers, "And if I turn you in, you'll be off the job before I can snap my fingers."

"Look, we've got a ball to serve at, could we do this some other time?" asked Fiyero annoyed. David gave Fiyero a look, but continued on down the hall. Fiyero followed him and went up to the ballroom and took his post behind the counter.

*************

Victor and Jacob slipped their masks on and pulled their fake invitations out of their pockets as they walked towards the entrance. They gave their invitations to the lady at the front and she smiled at them and told them to enjoy the ball. They smiled back, but not in the same way. They took their posts and pretended to mingle with various personnel's while they waited for the princess to come.

***********

Fiyero stood behind the bar counter, serving masks guests their drinks. He was prepared to be blown away when Elphaba made her entrance, but that still didn't stop making his heart stop. She wore a black dress that went to her knees with a few layers to it at the skirt part. It was sleeveless and fitted her perfectly. On her hands, she wore black silk gloves that went up to her elbow and she wore a single diamond bracelet on one wrist. Her hair had been wound into a messy bun that looked good on her and she held a black mask with black sequins to her face. It was the mask with a stick on one side that you held it with. Fiyero smiled as she walked down the stairs, receiving her customary hug from James before being introduced to a thousand different people. It was about 10:30, and the ball would end at midnight, when the masks came off, of course, he couldn't take his off, but he wished he could. She danced with a few of the guests and finally, around eleven forty five, she made her way over to the bar to chat with Daniel.

"My, don't you look handsome." she said.

"I do, don't I?" he laughed.

"Modest aren't you?" she laughed.

"You know me." he said, grinning at her. Galinda came over then, wearing a yellow dress and bearing a yellow mask.

"Wow, you look bright." said Fiyero.

"I know!" said Galinda, "I'm supposed to be sunny!"

"Well good job, you got what you were aiming for." said Fiyero.

"Are you making fun of me?" asked Galinda, sincerely confused.

"No...." said Fiyero. Elphaba laughed and Galinda put her hands on her hips.

"I think you both are mocking me." she whined, "So I'm going to go dance with...um..." she looked around, "David!" she declared and marched over to David who was serving o'dourves. She grabbed him and he hastily handed his tray to a guest who looked a little surprised, but just shrugged and started serving other guests o'dourves himself.

"Would you like to dance?" asked Fiyero.

"Of course." Elphaba grinned and she let him lead her to the dance floor. He took her small hand in his and they danced gracefully. Elphaba felt a sudden shock as she felt Fiyero take her hand. She looked at him and realized it was Daniel, not Fiyero. She sighed as her heart beat slowly decreased. Fiyero saw the slight bit of shock cross her face, but when she looked back at him, she seemed to relax, Fiyero wandered what had gotten her.

"Are you ok?" he asked, grinning.

"Fine, fine." Elphaba muttered. She looked up at him, "You know, I've never seen your eyes before, you're always wearing that stupid cap..." then she looked closer at his eyes, "Hey, you have blue eyes, I never knew that..." she trailed off as she looked deeper into his eyes_. Oh my Oz_, _those are Fiyero's eyes, those mesmerizing blue pools...he always looked at me like that, with...love...oh my oz, no it couldn't be, don't get carried away. But his hands feel so right, he's holding my hand like Fiyero...the other day in the hammock....she felt like she'd been with Fiyero...Fiyero...Fiyero, I have to know for sure...no, it can't be—but it is!_

"Say my name." said Elphaba all of a sudden.

"Elphaba." Fiyero said softly. Her eyes sparked and she looked at him, shock written all over her face.

"Fiyero?" she asked in wonder.

***********

It was 11:59.


	30. At the Sound of His Name

**(A/N: wow, thanks for all the reviews guys! Anyhu, this is kind of short I guess, but it's an update never the less. Sorry for any spelling typos or whatever etc. So enjoy! and review!)**

"_Fiyero?" she asked in wonder. _

_***********_

_It was 11:59._

She dropped her mask and it fell to the floor as they stopped dancing, they were frozen, unable to move. They stared at each other in shock. Fiyero couldn't believe she'd figured him out, did she know him that well? It made him love her all the more because she could tell who he was by the way he held her, by his eyes, _by the way he said her name_. Fiyero saw David a few yards away from him, mouthing 'no' a million times over and over again. No. Fiyero stared at her. Her eyes were so full of hope and realization, love. He wanted to say yes but—he couldn't, could he? His heart would break when he saw the look in her eyes when he told her: no, it's just me, Daniel.

She was so sure it was him. This was Fiyero. It had been him all along, it had—no, she couldn't jump to conclusions, how could this be Fiyero? She shouldn't get her hopes up, but he was just like him. Her eyes moved to their hands, still entwined, yes, those were Fiyero's hands. She looked at his mouth, the slight playful curve at the right corner; that was Fiyero's mouth. She looked into his eyes again and saw the blue that was just _completely_ Fiyero. He was shocked, that much she could tell, but she also saw a debate in him and love and a strong desire to tell her something.

"Fiyero?" she asked again, whispering his name softly as she stepped closer to him, "Is it really you?" One look at those brown beautiful eyes and Fiyero's answer was made, he couldn't hold back any longer. It was like all of the ties that had kept him away from her just snapped at the sound of his _name_ from her lips, his actual name, not Daniel's. At the sound of his name all of his love for her just came out him like a crushing wave. At the sound of his name all other thought left his mind. At the sound of his name all he could see was her. At the sound of his name, he pulled her close until their noses were touching.

"You tell me, Elphaba." he breathed and he kissed her passionately, pouring all of his love into it, for every month he had not been able to hold her and kiss her, for every tear she had shed because of him. He couldn't remember ever feeling so good. It was like everything that made up happiness in the world had been bestowed upon him, and it started with the sound of _his_ name from her lips.

Elphaba felt his lips on hers and immediately, she knew. It was Fiyero. He still loved her, she'd been with him all this time and she never knew it .She didn't have time to question why he'd pretended to be a servant named Daniel, all she could think about was the sound of her name from his lips, and the searing kiss that made her feel like all the happiness in the world had been bestowed upon her, starting with the sound of her name, from his lips. They finally broke apart, needing air. She gazed up into his eyes with love and reached up and slowly took his mask off. Fiyero didn't try to stop her, closing his eyes as he felt her butterfly touch gently remove the mask that was so much more than just a masquerade mask for the mask fell to the floor and joined her, own which she'd dropped. Now she could see his face, she hadn't seen it in so long, she'd forgotten how beautiful it was. She laid a hand on the side of his face.

"All this time?" she whispered, "It was you?"

"Ev-every last second." Fiyero managed to say, his voice was thick and cracked as tears pooled in his eyes, "Elphaba, I love you, you know that don't you? I didn't have a choice, I love you and I always will."

"I love you too Yero," she said, tears building in her own eyes, "So much, s-so please don't _ever_ do this to me again." Now with their masks shed, they kissed again, because once wasn't enough after so long.

**********

"Sir, we have to get you out of here." James heard a voice behind him. He turned around to see a man clothed entirely in black, a hood over his face.

"Who are you?" asked James.

"I'm part of the Organization set to protect you." said the man, "In just a minute, Frex's men are going to attempt to capture you and your daughter and force you into giving Oz to Frex."

"What?!" James asked, flustered.

"We don't have much time, c'mon!" the man grabbed James' arm and began pulling him through the crowd until they got to the bar. He pulled him behind the counter and opened one of the cabinets beneath the counter. He quickly moved a bunch of glasses out of the way and then slid the bottom of the cabinet out carefully to reveal a long dark tunnel.

"Elphaba, you'll make sure Elphaba is safe, won't you?" asked James.

"We'll try our hardest sir." said the man, pushing James into the tunnel.

*************

Slowly, the hand on the grand clock edged its way to the 12 to meet the hour hand. Victor watched it, waiting for the chimes of the clock to unknowingly announce war. Then, there it was. The chimes echoed loudly throughout the ballroom. Victor pulled his gun out of his jacket and a shot rang throughout the ballroom. Guests screamed and ducked down as several other men that had all been bordering the ballroom began to close in on the guest, holding their guns in the air to show that they had them and would use them.

"Everybody down!" Victor shouted. He looked throughout the crowd and didn't see the Wizard, the Organization must have gotten to him first. He then searched for the princess, she was still there.

**********

Fiyero had been leading Elphaba outside so that they could have some time to themselves when he heard the gun shot. He felt her hand leave his and he spun around to see her being pulled away from him by two men dressed in black and wearing red masks. She struggled, but it was no use. Fiyero jumped forward but felt himself being dragged back by two other men.

"Let me go!" Elphaba said, trying to pull her arm away. Many of the guests stood up, about to go to her aid.

"Stay down!" Victor yelled, "Anyone who doesn't cooperate will be severely punished, nobody go near the princess." A few listened to him and didn't make another rmove, others kept going and Victor figured out what they actually did care about, if not themselves, "For every time you don't cooperate, your princess will suffer for it." said Victor angrily, getting frustrated, he nodded to Jacob and he struck Elphaba hard across her face. She probably would have fallen if not for the two men holding her up. This put the crowd into an uproar, but nobody moved closer to her.

"The east tower." Victor said to Jacob and he and the other man that was holding Elphaba dragged her up the grand staircase and out of the ballroom. Fiyero struggled with the men restraining him.

"Lock all of the exits!" Victor yelled. There was a synchronized clicking sound as all of the exits were locked. The men restraining Fiyero roughly pushed him back to the ground and kicked him in the gut before walking away. Just when he'd gotten her back, just when he thought everything would work out, how could something like this happen? Suddenly, Fiyero heard another gunshot and more screams. A man had been shot for trying to escape. Blood soaked his white shirt sickeningly, falling rapidly to the floor with the grace of rain and the terror of murder. The brown of his eyes seemed to fade instantly into a dead gray as he fell face forward onto the marble floor with a skull cracking thud. Blood pooled around him and spread across the marble, like fingers reaching for the guests to drag them down too. Women shrieked and jumped away from the blood and the men flinched. The ballroom was completely silent then as Victor and his men walked around the ballroom, obviously awaiting some kind of order.

Fiyero felt a sharp nudge in his side. He looked to his side and saw David.

"C'mon." he said, "We just need to get behind the counter." he hissed.

"I have to go to Elphaba!" Fiyero hissed back.

"Are you crazy? Do you want to get yourself killed? You'll do her a lot better if you manage to stay alive." David said.

"I can't just leave her!" Fiyero said angrily.

"You can't die on her either! Imagine what that would do to her!" David hissed, "If you don't hurry, we're going to miss the cue and our chance of getting out of here. In about two seconds, the lights are going to be killed and we'll have our escape, but Frex's men already anticipated this and changed the wiring, the lights won't stay off more than a minute or two." just as David finished his sentence, the room went black and screams of shock were heard throughout eh crowd. Fiyero felt himself being pulled through the darkness till he found himself behind the bar. He noticed the glasses and then a long dark tunnel where the floor of the cabinet should have been. David pushed him through and then followed suit, closing the cabinet door behind him.


	31. Let War Begin

**(A/N: OMOMOMOMOMOMOMOMOMO!!!!!!!!! FINALLY! I GOT MY COMPUTER BACK!!!!! It got a stupid virus and so we sent it to the store and they were supposed to call us a week later and it ended up being like TWO FRIGGIN' WEEKS because the stupid computer dude forgot to call and my mom was like, "Oh please, you've been playing games on our computer!" and then I was "Uh huh" and then he was all, "Uh, sorry" and then I was all, "I WANT MY COMPUTER I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER!" it was craziness and I am so glad I have my computer back, I haven't typed in forever! Oz, I hate viruses and crap like that dude at the computer help store! UGH! Anyway, now that my rant is over, here's the next chapter, I'm so sorry it took so long to update. HOPEFULLY I'll update faster next time, now that I've got my friggin' computer back! Ugh! Oshimigoshers!) oh and please review!**

Already, a sort of camp for the Wizard and his men had been set up. They were setting up in the Emerald Forest. The Palace had been taken over by Frex, so it wasn't theirs anymore. Fiyero and David sprinted across the courtyards, running for the forest through the thick black night. They finally came to the clearing where about forty tents had already been set up. They panted and leaned on each other as they caught their breaths. James was suddenly right next to them.

"Elphaba." he said, "Did you get Elphaba, is my daughter with you?!"

"No sir." Fiyero managed to choke out, her name making so many feelings inside him bubble.

"She was taken by the other side." David said gently.

"Frex has my daughter?!" asked James, anger and despair making him livid, "Well if it's war he wants, it's war he'll get."

*********

She felt herself rip in two as she was pulled away from Fiyero. She struggled to break loose, but it was no good. They came to the elevators and they threw her in roughly. Her head hit the wall hard and her head rang as her vision swam. She kept a hand on the wall to keep from falling. The men snickered at her. The doors slid open and one of them picked her up and put he over his shoulder like a sack. She kicked him hard and she heard him grunt in pain. He took her shoes off and threw them on the floor so that when she kicked him, it wouldn't hurt so much. They came to the East Tower then and they pushed her inside, locking the door as they left.

The tower was made completely of stone. It was cold in the night. There was one window, and it had bars in it. Elphaba sat down and hugged her knees to her chest. Moisture bubbled in her eyes, but then she heard the door open and Frex walk in. He looked at her angrily.

"Do you know how much trouble you've caused?" asked Frex darkly, closing the door behind him. She subconsciously backed away from him. He laughed at her, "Do I scare you that much?!" he taunted, "If you hadn't run away in the first place, none of this ever would have happened. I wouldn't have had to gone to all these lengths just to ensure that I had food to eat and didn't end up in the ozdamn Southstairs!" he yelled at her.

"Why can't you just let me go?" she asked desperately, her voice soft, "Why do you feel like you have to own me? I'm not yours and I never was."

"I have always owned you!" Frex shouted at her. Her desperation quickly turned to anger.

"You're not even my _father_!" she shouted back, standing up, "And I'm _not_ your daughter!"

"You are and I am your father." Frex's voice was dangerously low as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. At this point, Elphaba usually would have looked away from his animalistic greedy eyes, but now, she was so angry, she hated him so much more now for taking her away from Fiyero, she looked straight into his eyes.

"I am not and the only thing you are is an Almighty asshole." she glared at him, right into those greedy red eyes.

"You ever say something like that again--!" he swung a hand to strike her, but she ducked, foreseeing the blow and pulled out of his grasp, striking him across the face as hard as she could. He stumbled back and she saw him falter as his eyes widen a bit. He wasn't used to her fighting back, to her actually avoiding getting hit. She'd always just let him beat her up because she'd thought she deserved it, but she wouldn't let him any longer. He'd taken her away from _Fiyero_. Frex was breathing hard and his eyes were getting fierce with rage. Elphaba backed away from him. She couldn't believe she'd just hit him. She was truly terrified now because in his rage, there wouldn't be anything she could do to stop him.

***********

The first battle took place the very next day. Neither side had planned on attacking the other, but soon enough, starting in early morning, the first gunshots had sounded throughout Oz and a battle had begun. It was the green uniforms against the black. It was bloody and downright brutal. Fiyero ran through the battlefield of smoke and gunpowder, making his way to the palace. His group was going to try and set as many hostages free as they could. They crawled through the tunnel into the ballroom. The guests from the previous night were all there still, lying on the floor, against walls, terrified for their lives as Frex's men walked around, pointing guns at people randomly and laughing at the looks on their faces. Some people lay strewn across the floor, covered in their own blood, murdered. Quietly, Fiyero and his group worked to bring the people in the ballroom over to the tunnel. They'd gotten about 15 people when they were figured out, one of the people being Galinda. They didn't expect to get even that many. Shots were fired from both sides. They had to get out now as they saw more of Frex's men enter the ballroom. They ducked through the tunnel and sealed it so that Frex's men wouldn't find the entrance. Fiyero new he should've felt good for saving these people, but how could he when Elphaba was still somewhere in the palace? The people they'd rescued were escorted back to the tents. They skirted the battlefield as they made their way back to their territory.

***************

Elphaba was terrified for his life. She heard the shots early the next morning. She couldn't see much out of the barred window, nothing but smoke and gunpowder. Everyone was small and faces were a blur. If Fiyero was out there, he'd better be careful, or he'd have her to deal with later. She saw a bird flying through the sky, or was it a Bird? It landed on the window sill.

"Princess!" the Bird chirped, out of breath.

"Hi." Elphaba said softly, letting the Bird hop onto her finger as she brought it inside, "What's your name?"

"Linus, at your service!" the Bird saluted. Elphaba smiled at him and Linus continued, "I'm so sorry about what happened! A battle is raging on and James sent me to find you so he could see how you are." Linus looked at her, noticed the bruises coloring her body her cut lip.

"My father sent you?!" Elphaba asked.

"Yes, I've been checking every window for nearly an hour now." said Linus, still breathing hard.

"Well, I'm fine." said Elphaba, "He might want to know that Frex is furious about this unplanned battle. He thinks James started it and he's sending out men to attack at night after this battle. He thinks he'll have the element of surprise, but I don't think he realized I could pass information along."

"Wow, perhaps having you here isn't so bad at all!" said Linus, then, realizing what he had said, "I mean, of course it's terrible that you're here, but something at least a little good has come of it, well not good—I mean--"

"I'm not offended, I get what you were saying." said Elphaba.

"Yes Princess, because by no means do we mean to make you stay here and spy for us, Prince Fiyero is working his hardest to get you back--"

"Fiyero?! Oh, please do me a favor!" Elphaba said.

"Anything your highness."

"I want you to go find Fiyero and see if he's alright or if he's in battle. If you find him tell him that I want him to be careful, ok?" she instructed. Linus nodded and he flew out of the window, slipping through the bars easily. Oh, how Elphaba wished she could be like Linus, free whenever she wanted to be, defying gravity.


	32. Negotiations

**(A/N: whoa! Look out! It's another update! yeah! Well...at least I'm _excited_...anyhu, thanks if you reviewed and felt sorry for me and my computer deprivation. It has been a hard few weeks. My grandma had to go to the hospital and she passed away. I played "For Good" on my flute at the funeral and the lyrics were up on the screen because nobody could sing it, but I felt that the lyrics really pertained to the the funeral and saying goodbye to someone you love, you know? Anyway, enough on that, here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it! It's longer than the previous one I believe (i hope) and if it gets boring and stuff...sorry! so please review! I updated super fast for you guys!)**

The shots and cannons finally stopped. It was like someone had flipped a switch, everything seemed silent. The battlefield was a cake of war; blood was smeared across the grass like frosting and bodies strewn across randomly like sprinkles. It was disgusting. Galinda stared at the battlefield with tears flowing down her porcelain face. Most everyone else was asleep right now, or out on the battlefield, looking for survivors. She was waiting for Fiyero to get back. He and his group had gone back to the palace to try and rescue others that were being held hostage in the ballroom. Finally she saw him come through, about 10 extra people behind him. He and Galinda hadn't had time to really talk that day, Fiyero and his group making constant runs between the palace and the Wizard's territory. Fiyero was exhausted. He showed the people he'd gotten out to a tent that had just been set up, then hauled himself over to wear Galinda sat outside of one of the tents where people from the ballroom were staying. He sat down next to her with a tired sigh. He looked out at where the battlefield had been.

"You know, I thought that if anyone figured Daniel out, it would be me." said Galinda, turning to him, wiping tears off her face, "Turns out you were harder to crack than I thought."

"It wasn't easy Galinda." said Fiyero, turning to her as well, then he let a grin slide across his face, "You made sure of that." he laughed. Galinda blushed and giggled.

"Well, I just knew you couldn't be _gay_!" said Galinda.

"Oh _honey_, are you sure about that?" asked Fiyero, using his fruits-a-lot voice. Galinda's eyes widened for a minute, and then they both started laughing.

"But Fiyero, why did you do it?" asked Galinda as their weak laughter faded.

"It was a desperate attempt to keep Elphaba safe, keep my parents alive and save my own skin." Fiyero sighed, looking up at the moon, which hung over the battlefield, as though recognizing the fallen today.

"What happened after Elphaba and I left for the Emerald City?" asked Galinda.

"Frex took over our castle and took my parents and I hostage. But then I escaped because this group called the organization helped me. I joined up with them and my job was to disguise myself and work in the palace because Frex had already installed men there. There were about four others I think, maybe more or less. We got messages every time someone was figured out and we knocked them out and took them to Organization headquarters, I never knew what happened to them after that, but I'm pretty sure they're not alive anymore."

"Oh." said Galinda.

"But, none of it really mattered at all." said Fiyero, suddenly tearing his gaze away from the moon to look at Galinda, the moon stayed in his eyes, which were glistening with tears, frustrated, angry and distraught tears, "Did it?! Frex still took over the palace and got Elphaba. I should have been spending my time being with her if this was all going to happen anyway! I wasted the time we could have had together. Nothing I did protected her! And it just—I just—I can't understand _why_ all of this had to happen! I shouldn't have wasted my time with her, I shouldn't have..." he looked away from Galinda as he felt the tears drop. He rested his head on his knees and tried to stop the stupid tears that only reminded him of his efforts to protect Elphaba, his tears weren't going to help her either and he felt he was wasting time again.

"Fiyero," Galinda said gently, placing a small hand on his shoulder, "You're talking like you're never going to see her again."

"Well what if I don't, Galinda?! She could be dead right now, and I'm just sitting here!" Fiyero shouted angrily, looking back up at her as more tears flooded his eyes.

"Fiyero, you need to rest." said Galinda softly, "You're exhausted."

"It seems like I've saved everyone today but her." Fiyero sighed, looking back at the moon, "Someday, we're both going to be free, you know what I mean?" asked Fiyero as he saw a bird fly past the moon, "_Together_, me and her, we'll be like that bird up there, free whenever we want to be, defying gravity."

"I believe it Fiyero." said Galinda. They fell into a comfortable silence then, until they realized the bird Fiyero had just pointed out was flying towards them. He landed in front of them, wheezing from flying so long.

"P-prince Fiyero!" the Bird finally managed to say.

"Yes?" asked Fiyero.

"Linus at your service!" Linus bent down into a bow, or whatever it was Birds do, "I would've gotten here earlier, but for some reason, I got all mixed up and ended up in the bloody Munchkinland forest. Anyway, Princess Elphaba sent me to tell you to be careful and to ensure your...what's the word...aliveness..."

"Elphaba, you spoke to Elphaba?!" asked Fiyero.

"Yes, she's being kept in the East Tower at the Emerald Palace," said Linus, "She wanted me to tell you to be careful and stay out of battle."

"Linus...what...what did she look like?" asked Fiyero, not really wanting to know the answer, but needing to. Linus was about to answer when he suddenly got what Fiyero really meant by that. He sighed and looked at Fiyero sadly.

"She's badly bruised, I think she's been hit a lot, but no blood, no blood." said Linus. Fiyero felt a knife twist in his heart. Galinda winced and took Fiyero's hand, giving it a quick squeeze.

"After you rest, in the morning, I want you to tell her that I love her and that I _am_ coming for her." said Fiyero.

"I will your Highness." said Linus, "Now I must go see the Wizard about the other news she had."

"What other news?" asked Fiyero.

"She overheard Frex talking about a surprise attack tonight."

"Linus, it's night now!" said Fiyero, "There's no time to tell the Wizard, make the call!" Linus had never made the call before, that was for bigger Birds....He sucked in a deep breath and rose above the territory, making the call as loud as he could. Fiyero ran to the different tents as he heard the first shots from Frex's men as they realized they'd been discovered. Soldiers quickly grabbed their guns and another fight was raging. Fiyero ran back to Galinda, who was paralyzed with fear and shock. He grabbed her hand and tugged her away from the battlefield, further into the forest. They didn't stop until the shots were muffled by distant.

"You stay here." said Fiyero and he started to head back.

"No!" Galinda shouted, grabbing his arm, "Elphaba told you _not_ to! She said to stay out of the battles!"

"But I--"

"_Stay_."

************

David had been with Fiyero the entire day mostly, getting people from the ballroom, and he was exhausted. This surprise attack was sprung on exhausted soldiers. It was obvious that Frex had held back during the first battle, saving his men's energy for this. David could sense everyone was at their breaking point as the sun began to rise, sending a pink/orange glow sliding over everyone. Finally, James had to pull back. He called the men back before anyone else died and Frex took the victory smugly as he walked to the borderline of where Wizard territory started. James went to the borderline as well, standing right in front of Frex, unwavering.

"Ah, you _Highness_," Frex sneered, "I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting one another yet. I'm Frex, ex-governor of Munchkinland and soon to be Wizard of Oz."

"Aren't we setting high goals for ourselves?" James growled, "What is it you _want_ Frex? You can't have Oz."

"I figured you'd say something like that." said Frex shrugging, "But what if I brought _this_ into the picture." one of Frex's men pushed Elphaba forward and Frex grabbed her arm. Her hands were tied behind her back and she was blindfolded, bruises colored her skin and she didn't have any shoes. Immediately, James reached for her, but Frex pulled her back.

"Ah, ah, ah, negotiations first." said Frex.

"You can have Oz, just let my daughter go!" James cried desperately. A murmur went through the night at this proposition. Frex, have Oz...even if it saved the Princess....

"_Your_ daughter?" asked Frex mockingly, "You didn't she was actually _your_ daughter did you?!"

"She is." said James, "You're not her father, you're not even _human_, you're vile, cruel and pathetic." Frex was dangerously silent for a moment, terrifyingly calm. David was behind a tree, nearly as close as James to the Elphaba. He saw the anger in Frex's eyes and knew he was about to do something terrible.

"Pathetic am I?" asked Frex, his voice low and quivering with anger. In one swift movement he broke Elphaba's arm. A sickening crack was heard. She screamed as the pain rippled through her body like waves of fire. James was horrified. Cries and gasps were heard from James' side of the borderline.

"It'll be her back next!" Frex yelled at James, he breathed out and began to calm down, "Let's see how long the great Wizard of Oz will last now, knowing that every attack he makes will hurt _her_." he pointed at Elphaba, "Though don't be too concerned, I won't kill her, I would never think of it. But she will be begging me to before this war is over. The longer you drag this out the worse it will be. I'd surrender fast if I was you."

*********

Fiyero heard the scream even as far back as he was in the forest. Galinda had fallen asleep. Fiyero would've headed back to territory sooner, but he didn't want to wake Galinda. Galinda woke up when she heard the scream. Fiyero knew who it was, the gunshots had stopped a little while ago, the two heads were negotiating most likely. Fiyero began to run back to territory, Galinda behind him. A march band seemed to have taken over his heart as it beat past it's limit. It hurt. He didn't look back to see if Galinda was following him, he was too scared for Elphaba. Finally they got back to the tents. Fiyero saw Frex and his army in the distance, they'd already left. James stood at the borderline, a statue to any stranger. His eyes were haunted. Everyone seemed terrified and indecisive, confused, not knowing what to do. Fiyero saw David and went to him.

"David, what's happened?" asked Fiyero, "I heard--" David nodded.

"It was her Fiyero." he confirmed, "Frex came by after the battle. He told James that he was never going to give Elphaba up, not even for Oz. But he's going to torture her until this war is over, so the faster James surrender's the less Elphaba has to suffer. Just now, he got so mad, he just broke her arm, really fast. But nobody knows what to do. It's hard to watch that sort of thing happen, especially to her, but surrendering Oz could put a whole lot more people through hell and on."

"So either way, Frex gets Elphaba." Fiyero swallowed even more tears. He had stayed back in the forest with Galinda, he could've seen her. Could he have helped her? There was no way of knowing, probably not, but just that fact that he had not been there when she was just made him angry and sad and frustrated and pathetic and despairing....Frex's deal was in no way fair. Fiyero knew that had he been James, he would've surrendered in a heartbeat, which just went to show that he wasn't meant to rule Oz. James had to think about everyone in Oz, had Fiyero been him, he would've only thought of Elphaba. Either way James chose, he would be the one carrying the guilt on his back that would weigh more than any other weight in Oz.


	33. Plans

**(A/N: Sorry for um...what's it called, I'm having a brain freeze....delay! Yes, that's it. Sorry for the _delay_. I've been doing this writing workshop and it's been keeping me busy. It's more work making up your own characters, I'll tell you that. Anyway. To anyone that gave their condolences for my grandmother, thank you so much! It was so nice of you all. This chapter is a little fast I guess, a bit scattered I guess, maybe not. Anyhu, thanks for reading and all your support and reviews. So review again and make my day! lol)**

Finally, James felt like he was able to move. He quickly made his way back to his tent. His advisors followed behind him. Once inside his tent, the advisors exploded with arguments and suggestions.

"You have to think of your people--!"

"You can still--!"

"Fight--!"

"Don't surrender or--!"

"Oz will be destroyed if you let--!"

"ENOUGH!" James roared, "My head is ringing enough without the lot of you spouting shit that I already know!" the advisors immediately shut up. James sighed, "We're _not_ attacking."

"But sir--!"

"Think logically now your highness--!"

"What about Oz--?"

"I've made my decision!" James shouted over them, "We're not attacking! At least not now we aren't! We don't attack until my daughter is out of that vile creature's clutches!" Nobody said anything. Fiyero walked in then, having heard the whole thing.

"I think that is a very good idea sir. Usually I would say to attack right away so she would suffer less, but we would lose considering Frex weakened our forces. We lost a lot of men today because of his surprise attack. And I think that's why he held back in the first battle so that he could weaken us in this surprise attack so that when he made his proposition, it wouldn't be entirely stupid." said Fiyero, "It shouldn't take us long to devise a plan on how to get her out. We've also got Linus, the Bird from earlier who can work as our messenger in case we need to communicate with Elphaba. Once she's out, there won't be anything stopping you from attacking."

"Fiyero you've thought this through." said James, "Now, let's get a plan together, where's Linus?"

"At your service sire!" Linus flew in proudly.

"Linus, go to the palace and see if you can look through the windows and see if the guards are guarding all routes to the exits." said James. Linus nodded and he was off, yelling over his shoulder.

"I won't get lost this time!"

***********

Fiyero and James had been staring at the sky a good fifteen minutes now. Finally they saw Linus. He flew back, out of breath of course.

"Guards at every exit." he breathed. Fiyero and James both cursed under their breath, but of course, this was to be expected.

"Damn, if only we could just fly her out!" Fiyero said exasperated, running a hand through his hair.

"Yes!" James said, looking up, "We could enchant a broom or something and fly her out!"

"There are bars on the window sir." Linus said.

"It'll be easy to blow a hole in the wall or something." said Fiyero dismissively, ideas coming to him at lightning speed.

"Yes!" James said, thinking hard too.

"Who do you know that can enchant something to fly?" asked Fiyero, his spirits declining as realized how stupidly hopeful they had allowed themselves to get. They heard a small clearing of the throat and they both turned to see Galinda, he small hand raised hesitantly.

"If you please sir, I actually took a sorcery class at my last school and I was able to enchant books to float in the air, I'm sure if you got me a spell book, I'd be able to enchant brooms to fly." said Galinda.

"Wonderful Galinda!" said James. He immediately sent two men to go and get a spell book for Galinda. James walked away, needing to check with his generals to see how their side was holding up. For all they knew, Frex could be planning another attack to weaken them even more so that it would even be in their favor to surrender. But all they could do would be self-defense. Fiyero turned to Galinda once everyone had cleared out, getting brooms and spell books and what not.

"You really think you could do it?" asked Fiyero.

"Well I wouldn't have said anything if I couldn't!" Galinda snapped, "Though it might take a few days."

"I hope she can hold out that long." Fiyero sighed.

*************

Elphaba had never felt more pain in her entire life. Frex had never done something this bad to her. She wanted to scream and keep screaming, but she was too cold to. There was a fire that seized through her body but at the same time she felt as though she was drowning in ice cold water. She shivered violently, yet she felt sweat dripping down her face. Every time the wind blew through the barred window, it swept into the open gashes on her back and she jerked uncontrollably. She looked up and saw Linus come through the window. He was horrified by what he saw.

"Princess!" he exclaimed, "Are you--"

"L-linus," her voice shook and was terribly weak, "T-t-tell my fath-ther that Fr-frex is attacking t-tonight."

"Y-yes Princess." Linus' own voice shook from the tears he was trying not to let fall.

"Don't c-cry Linus, brush-finch Birds n-never cry. Now g-go before Frex c-comes back and finds y-you." she managed to say. Linus nodded and quickly took flight, small tears dropping from his eyes like rain. A young girl below from the city looked up as she felt a raindrop hit her cheek. But there were no clouds. She saw Linus. It took a lot to make a brush-finch Bird cry. Most brush-finch went their whole life without ever shedding a tear. You knew things had taken a terrible turn when you felt the tears of a brush-finch on your cheek. Tears ran down her face silently as she watched the Bird soar through the sky. These were bad times. Ever since James had lost power, Frex's men had come into the city forcing money or anything they wanted, any resistance was punished by death. Animals were being hunted and killed because Frex didn't believe Animals should have rights.

************

This time they were ready. Linus hadn't lost his way, thank Oz and he managed to inform James before Frex attacked. They stood ready at the border line, expecting the shadows of Frex's men to lurk and stretch themselves across the hill before actually seeing their bodies. They seemed surprised that James was already at the ready. They attacked none the less. This time however it was a fair equal fight. Both sides lost men, but neither won. Frex pulled his men back before he lost more. He was beyond furious. He was nearly shaking with rage. How had James known they'd be attacking tonight?! He went to the border line. James met him there.

"How did you know?" asked Frex in a low menacing voice.

"There's seems to be a traitor among you." James lied icily. Frex swung around to face his men, scanning their faces, looking for the traitor. They all gave surprised looks and looked at each other.

"You're lying." Frex accused, turning back to James.

"How can you know?" asked James, "You don't even know who's slipping us the information that just might claim us the victory."

"You seem confident tonight." Frex spat, "Would you like an update on your daughter's health? She's in an insufferable amount of pain, lashed until she lost consciousness. I think her blood will leave a permanent stain on the stone."

************

Frex paced around in his study angrily. After their last battle, there had been no word from the Wizard. Nothing. They hadn't surrendered, but they hadn't attacked either. It was so aggravating. He'd already lashed Elphaba until she fell unconscious and he'd had James notified of that too, but still nothing! It was as though James was planning something. He was acting like Elphaba didn't even matter anymore. Ugh, Frex was so frustrated. He went back up to the East Tower. It was the second day of silence from James, so that meant Frex had to do something else horrible to Elphaba. He opened the door and saw her sitting in the corner, blood pooled around her, sliding down her back. She was shivering violently, hugging her knees to her chest. She didn't even have the energy to acknowledge his presence with a biting sarcastic remark as usual. Frex sighed in frustration again. Odd as it may sound, he didn't want to cause her any more physical pain because he was afraid she was going to die. But he didn't want James to doubt his ability, or say he was bluffing. He couldn't appear, as James so cordially put it, pathetic. He called for Madame Morrible then.

"Morrible!" he yelled. He'd found her in the Great Kells, locked up in some cell or other for using her magic to kill someone, he figured a sorceress like her could be useful. The older woman came bustling up the stairs, her face wore an evil look.

"Yes?" asked Morrible, looking at Elphaba with disgust. Elphaba turned her head slightly to see who had a come. She'd never seen the woman before, but her gaze was of pure hatred and wickedness. She shivered again, but not from the blood loss or cold.

"It's the second day and the Wizard, being all full of himself, _still_ hasn't acknowledged my proposition. I'd break her other arm but I fear that she'd die or something. Oz how frustratingly fragile she is. So use your magic and do something to her, but make sure it doesn't hurt. I want James to break and surrender."

"It would be my pleasure." said Madame Morrible evilly. She cackled then, loudly and maniacally.

**********

It was the second day, and everyone was getting anxious. Fiyero was itching to know what went down at the battle last night, he kept his promise to Elphaba and stayed away from it, taking Galinda to the deep forest while they waited for the fight to end. He asked around what Frex had said, because apparently whatever he'd said left a lot of people uneasy. Everyone seemed reluctant to tell either him or Galinda though.

Galinda had been pouring over the spell books all day yesterday, looking for the _exact_ spell, it couldn't be too complicated and it couldn't be too lenient. Fiyero had tried to give her space, but it proved hard to do. The plan was that he and David would be going (David was practically his partner in crime by now) to the palace. It would be easy to knock out two guards, Linus had said, at one of the exits. They would put on their uniforms and go to the East Tower, either get a key from the guard or blow the door open if they couldn't get a key. Then they'd blow a hole in the wall and be able to fly out. Linus said there was enough space in the tower for them to use a stick of dynamite and not be in the blow themselves. It was a simple enough plan. It would be fine. Fiyero was about to go into Galinda's tent again to check on her progress, but someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind.

"Prince Fiyero, you're parents are here to see you." said the soldier.

"My parents?" asked Fiyero, confused. He'd forgotten all about them in everything that had been going on. He followed the soldier through the maze of tents to the Wizard's. He went inside and saw his mother and father there.

"Mom?" asked Fiyero, "Dad?"

"Oh Fiyero!" his mother cried, running over to him and giving him a huge, suffocating hug.

"What happened? How did you guys get here?" asked Fiyero.

"Well, Frex pretty much abandoned the Vinkun Castle. In all honesty, I think he forgot about us. So we trekked here after we learned about the war." said Lisa.

"Well it's great to see you guys!" Fiyero exclaimed, "Especially you mom, you're not hurt are you?"

"I'm fine dear." said Lisa, "And Harold is too." Fiyero looked up at his father, losing his smile.

"G'day father." Fiyero nodded in his general direction, "Glad you're alright." Harold nodded stiffly.

"The good news, well, besides this good news, is that your father has brought the entire Vinkun guard, so we're up a good 25 percent I'd say against Frex." said James.

"That's great!" said Fiyero, "I'm going to go check on Galinda and see how things are going with the spell, James why don't you tell my parents the plan?" Fiyero quickly exited the tent, the atmosphere was getting tense with Harold in there. Yes he was glad to see his Dad, glad he was alright, but still...

As he neared Galinda's tent, he heard squeals of excitement. He quickly went in and saw two brooms floating steadily in the air.

"Galinda you've done it!" Fiyero said.

"I know!" Galinda cried, "But you'll have to wait over night for the spell to complete set in."

"Thank you so much Galinda!" Fiyero cried, giving her a big hug, "You're the best, I mean it."

"Thanks dearest!" Galinda giggled, "Elphie'll be back in no time. I could only charm two brooms, so she'll have to ride with either you or David, but they should be full proof, I think I did the spell exactly right. See Fiyero? I told you everything would be fine, that you'd see her again. You will see each other again and guess what else."

"What?"

"You'll be defying gravity." she said and the brooms twirled gracefully in the air.


	34. Defying Gravity

**(A/N: *resigned sigh* ah well, I knew this day would come. My story has officially been shelfed. It's glory days were nice, but like everything thing, all good things must come to an end. It seems my quaint little story has lost the interest of most of its readers. But to those who are still a long for the ride, I'll keep writing this if you want. It was really nice of you guys that reviewed to review. It made me smile. So, this chapter is uber sad just to warn you. Review if you're still along for the ride :) **

Fiyero shot through the forest, missing trees by inches. He yelled as he almost crashed head long into a giant oak tree, but he laughed it off as he looked behind him at the tree. In looking back, he didn't look forward, therefore, it was a bit of a surprise when ANOTHER giant tree was right in front of him. He pulled up on the broomstick and he shot straight up into the sky. There was nothing like it. Defying gravity was the best feeling (besides being with Elphaba of course). Fiyero felt light and free, Oz, Bird's really had it made. He went upside down in a loop, before returning back to where the others were. He landed in front of Galinda.

"I think it works." he grinned. Galinda squealed and hugged him.

"Now you be careful." she warned, "Or...else." was all she said. She turned to David, "And you too!" she snapped, "If I see one scratch on you head—I'll...I'll...let's just say you've got a storm coming your way buster."

"Buster?" asked David.

"It's what people say to sound intimidating." Galinda whined, "You know..._buster_."

"Ok...." David and Fiyero chuckled, "We're off now, we should be back in an hour max." They mounted their broom and shot into the sky.

************

She hadn't moved much since the last time Linus had come by. He easily slipped through the bars and stood before her on the stone. She didn't seem to notice him.

"Princess?" Linus finally spoke up when she still didn't notice him.

"Linus, is th--that you?" she asked, but she wasn't looking at him.

"Yes Princess." said Linus, "I've come to tell you that Fiyero and David are on their way right now to save you."

"W-well they bet-better not get h-hurt." Elphaba shivered violently as a small gust of wind blew through the window. She stared into space, her eyes focusing on nothing. Linus wondered why she wasn't looking at him. He shrugged it off; she was probably in a haze from all the pain she was in.

"Princess, are you alright?" he asked.

"Quite—quite fine." Elphaba mumbled, "T-tell my f-father that Frex is—is trying to get th-the Great Ke-kells to fight f-for him. The G-great Kells has al-always been a pr-pretty indiff—erent province, they j-just want to fight. I-if my father ne-negotiates with them f-first, I'm sure th-they will fight for us."

"That's a very good idea Princess." said Linus.

**********

Frex was still fuming from that blasted battle. How had they known?! He was almost certain there were no traitors among his own men. He knew them all well, they were all too shitty to pass over secrets to the enemy. He was muttered to himself and yelled as he paced around his study, slamming his fists onto the desk. Finally, when his energy was spent, he sat back in the hard chair. He nearly fell asleep when he heard two voices upstairs...in the East Tower. He knocked his chair over as he stormed up there. He stood at the door as he listened to Elphaba giving information to somebody. Frex's blood boiled as his face turned red. So this was how James had known about the attack. His daughter had told him. Before Frex had actually felt a little sorry for Elphaba, because of what Morrible did to her, now he just felt she deserved if even more! He couldn't wait to rub it in James' face tomorrow about what else he'd put Elphaba through. He flung the door open and saw Elphaba on the ground like yesterday, talking to a Bird. They both jumped as the door flew open. The bird scrambled to get to the window as Elphaba ushered him out, but Frex blocked the window, the Bird fluttered slowly to the ground, staring up at Frex with wide eyes. Frex pulled his pistol out of his pocket. He knew Elphaba couldn't see him, but she could still hear. He aimed the pistol at the Bird, and one shot was all it took. The shot mingled with Elphaba's scream and the Bird's last sound before death. The Bird lay dead on the floor, blood trickling across the stone.

"No!" Elphaba screamed as she felt Linus's blood spread slowly, thickly over her hand.

"You ruined my plans." said Frex coldly, "This will teach you not to pass along my plans to the Wizard." he stepped over the dead bird and walked out, locking the door tightly behind him to ensure that she wouldn't escape, but in her current state, he doubted she'd even try. Elphaba reached her hand out until she felt his soft feathers. Tears pricked at her eyes and fell on Linus's body, mixing with the soaking blood.

**********

Fiyero and David landed silently a few yards away from two guards outside. The guards were unsuspecting, making small talk and arguing over which constellation they were looking at. Fiyero looked at the stars, and it wasn't a constellation of either sorts, it was just stars. Fiyero rolled his eyes and he and David walked up behind them slowly. They hit them hard on the heads with theirs brooms and they were out like a light. It was rather humorous actually. Fiyero took off one of the guards caps and put it on his head.

"Now we have to undress them." he groaned as he began to unbutton the jacket of the guard.

"Aren't you used to undressing guys by now, fruity?" asked David, quirking a smile at him.

"Haha, very funny." said Fiyero as he put the guard's jacket and began to unlace his shoes. Once they were fully decked in the black uniforms Frex's men wore, they snagged the guard's set of keys and let themselves into the palace quietly. Inside it was dark, there were no lights on. The palace was so different when it was home to Frex. They kept to the shadows, even though they had Frex's uniforms on. They didn't run into any other guards until they were almost to the East Tower.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked one of Frex's men.

"The bathroom?" said Fiyero.

"Together?" the man quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, he," Fiyero pointed at David, "Has a little um...trouble if you know what I mean..."

"Ugh, get lost!" the man yelled, pushing them in the opposite direction.

"We're going that way." Fiyero said, making to step around the man towards the steps to the East Tower.

"No yer not. The only thing thataway is the East Tower, and the only thing in the East Tower is the Princess and I don't think she'd help you in the bathroom even if you asked nicely." said the man.

"Fine fine." Fiyero backed off, "If you'd have just let us go, I wouldn't have to do this."

"What?" asked the man.

"This." David hit him hard with the end of his broom.

"Hey!" Fiyero said, "I was going to do that!"

"If I'm made to have bathroom troubles, I think I get to knock him out." David growled, "Now c'mon." he and Fiyero quickly raced up the steps. Luckily, they didn't have to break down the door. They did however have to search the whole Ozdamn ring of keys till they found the right one.

**********

Elphaba heard the click of the lock in the door. She flinched, thinking it was Frex again. She heard the door open slowly, gently even. She frowned, that couldn't be Frex, he almost banged it. She heard two pairs of footsteps. Her back was to the door. She heard a sharp intake of breath. Slowly she let her hand slide across the stone floor until it came to the stranger's foot. She felt the cool steel of the toe. Those were what Frex's men wore. She quickly brought her hand back.

"What d-do you want?" she asked coldly. Fiyero felt unable to move as he looked at her. Her back was lashed badly, horribly. Long, deep gashes split her skin and blood covered her. She was shivering violently, from cold or blood loss, Fiyero couldn't tell. He kneeled down next to her, only then did he notice the Bird in her hands. It was Linus Fiyero realized with a jolt. He was bloodied and....dead.

"Oh my Oz." Fiyero murmured. David slowly approached the two.

"Elphaba?" he asked.

"Who are you?" asked Elphaba, her hand traced Fiyero's face. She knew that face...wait, was it--?

"Elphaba, it's me." said the voice next to her.

"Fiyero?" she asked quietly. He nodded. She didn't say anything. There was silence until she asked again, "Are you Fiyero?" she asked.

"Yes." Fiyero said, confused, hadn't she seen him nod? She had been looking right at him, "I just nodded." he said, concern embedded I his voice, "You saw me." he said.

"Fiyero...she's...she's....Fiyero, she can't see you, she's blind." said David, his eyes widening. Fiyero looked more closely at Elphaba's eyes, and with a jolt, he realized David was right. She hadn't seen him at, she hadn't been looking at him.

"Oz, Elphaba." he quickly gathered her into his arms and held her close as he felt tears come to his eyes. She buried her face in his shoulder as she felt tears fall, burning her, but she didn't even notice that minimal pain when the rest of her body was in agony. They suddenly heard footsteps and David quickly pulled them up.

"We have got to go, _now_." said David urgently. He pulled the match and stick of dynamite out of his pocket. Fiyero pulled Elphaba closer to the wall, and held her safely to him. David lit the fuse and set it by the far wall, walking back to where Fiyero and Elphaba stood. Two seconds later, the dynamite exploded, sending stone flying and dust spiraling in the air. It didn't take long for the dust to disperse and a big gaping hole became clear, blasted through the stone wall. They heard shouts behind them. Fiyero quickly mounted his broom and pulled Elphaba on in front of him. She still held Linus tightly to her chest. Fiyero quickly kicked off the ground, zooming out of the hole. David right behind him. Elphaba jumped a little at the sudden loss of ground. But soon, she realized what they were doing and what had happened, how she'd escaped. But she couldn't be happy.

"We did it Elphaba." Fiyero whispered in her ear as tears poured down his face, "We're defying gravity." tears shone through his words, and Elphaba didn't need to see him to know he was crying.

"Yero my hero." she murmured as she felt her own tears run down her face. She felt the wind on her face, all around her. She shivered, but not as badly. She wanted to be able to look down when she defied gravity and see how high up she was. See exactly how _free_ she was. But she couldn't see anything. She hugged Linus closer to her heart and could only feel: the wood of the broom, the wind in her hair, Fiyero's strong arms around her, the feeling defying gravity, and the still of Linus's heart.

**(A/N: if that beginning author's note freaked anybody out, sorry! I am going to continue this story, you don't think I could end it LIKE THIS? did you?)**


	35. It's Not So Bad

**(A/N: OKAY! I have changed my mind, i suppose people are still interested in this story! And to those of you who thought that _I _had lost interest in my story, that was not what I meant, I meant that _you guys_ had lost interest. I guess I was just kinda depressed that day so I wrote a depressing author's note...? Oz, I feel like such a jerk for making you guys think that you HAD to review for me to continue this story. I give you full permission to call me a number of ozian swear words if you want to...though of course it would be preferable if you didn't....I truly am sorry thanks for all your responses! Anyhu, since the last chapter was uber (everyone should love that word) sad so this chapter is uber (!) fluffy Fiyeraba. :) so review if you WANT to...hehe...:)**

_She gave Frex a wicked smile and then turned to Elphaba. Her eyes wandered over the gashes on her back. She looked at the shivering girl with disgust. She was dying, right before her eyes. No wonder Frex was hesitant to break her other arm. _

_"I know just the spell." said Madame Morrible._

_"What does it do?" asked Frex cautiously; wondering if this had been the best idea._

_"You'll see." said Morrible, "I want it to be a surprise." she cackled. Elphaba looked up at her with deep brown eyes. The girl seemed afraid, good. Morrible brought a spell book out from under her long sleeves. She circled Elphaba as she began to read a spell from the book. She chanted menacingly. Elphaba followed her with her eyes as Morrible circled her. She was scared, she'd admit that. Morrible finally stopped chanted and gave Elphaba a pointed look. Elphaba stared at her, waiting for something to happen. Sudden, her eyes started to lose focus. Morrible became only a blur to her. She wiped at her eyes and blinked, but it wasn't helping. Morrible grinned as she realized the spell was working. She laughed maniacally as Elphaba rubbed at her eyes. Suddenly the blur was gone...and nothing was there. Elphaba couldn't see anything at all. She opened her eyes, but they were already open she realized with a jolt. She screamed as she rubbed at her eyes and opened them repeatedly. She began to panic as blackness appeared over and over and over again, every time she opened and closed her eyes. She screamed again as she realized what had happened. _

_"What did you do?!" Frex yelled, "You said it wouldn't cause her any pain!"_

_"I just did a simple spell." Morrible smirked, "And besides, don't you like hearing her scream? I always thought it was a nice sound. And she's not in any pain, whatsoever."_

_"Like hell she isn't!" Frex thundered. He went over to where Elphaba sat and kneeled in front of her, "What's wrong Fabala?" he asked, using her old childhood name by accident, "What did she do to you?" She turned, but she still wasn't exactly facing him._

_"Hey, I'm over here." Frex said._

_"She can't see you." Morrible cackled._

_"What?" Frex gasped. He looked closer at Elphaba's eyes; once a deep engulfing brown, now hazed over and a sickly glassy white._

_"She's blind."Morrible cackled._

Elphaba woke with a start. Her breathing came in sharp gasps. For a moment, she thought she was back in that barred tower. Her hands ran over the soft material of the blankets she was sleeping on. She didn't know where she was at all. Her hands slid over the blanket until the blanket ended and she felt soft grass. So she was outside, or in a tent she guessed.

"Elphaba?" Fiyero's voice came to her from her side. She turned that way, her hand groping in the darkness for him. Fiyero felt even more tears spring to his eyes, but he didn't cry this time. He quickly grabbed her hand and brought it to his face, "I'm right here Elphaba." he whispered. Her fingers traced over his face gently; sliding down his nose, going over his eyelids and then resting at his lips. He kissed her fingertips tenderly. He moved her hand slowly away from his mouth. He held her hand gently and he moved closer to her in the darkness. He cupped her cheek with his other hand. Soon, his nose was touching hers, his lips not even an inch away. Their breath mingled as they both seemed to be waiting. He finally pulled her the required fraction closer and kissed her gently, slowly, but passionately. The kiss was slow and beautiful, sending a soaring bliss entangling their hearts together. He deepened it just as slowly and she followed his lead hesitantly, letting him guide her and lead her. She pulled away slowly and they sat together, their lips touching slightly as they caught their breath.

"Do it again." she whispered. He felt her lips move against his and he quickly obliged, his arms encircled her protectively.

"Elphaba, I love you." he breathed, "I love you so much. You must know that by now. I never really left you see, it was me all along, Daniel." he explained between kisses.

"How the tables turned." she muttered, before his lips caught her own again, "Mm, I love you."

"I still feel--" he was interrupted as she kissed him, "—terrible about what happened to you." she pulled back and traced his face again with her fingertips.

"It's not so bad." Elphaba lied, "Being blind that is."

"How is your back?" asked Fiyero, not knowing what else to say. He brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"It's not so bad either." Elphaba whispered, "You know, after it got all bandaged up and stuff."

"Who did this to you?" asked Fiyero, "Was it Frex?"

"No." Elphaba said, shaking her head, "It was some old witch by the name of Morrible, Madame Morrible, whatever. It was her."

"You mean, she put a spell on you?" asked Fiyero.

"I suppose." said Elphaba, "Yes."

"Is there any way to undo it or reverse it?" asked Fiyero.

"I don't know." said Elphaba, "I have a bad feeling about her though, Morrible. She's working for Frex, yes, but somehow, I get the feeling she's even worse than him. She seems like she's got her own agenda and she's just playing by Frex's rules as a foundation for her plan."

"Should we tell James?" asked Fiyero.

"Probably." Elphaba said, "Just to voice our suspicions." Fiyero nodded, before remembering that Elphaba couldn't see him.

"Yes." he said, "Galinda came by earlier today."

"How long have I been asleep?" asked Elphaba.

"Well, a good 24 hours I'd say. He brought you back here around 11:30 and you had to be rushed to medications. We couldn't take you to any hospitals of course, because they're all on Frex's side. Then after you got all bandaged up, I brought you here, to my tent, and you pretty much slept till now."

"What did you do today?" asked Elphaba.

"I sat in here with you." said Fiyero, as though it should have been obvious. She laughed.

"That must have been really boring." she said.

"You're never boring, even when you close your eyes, lay down and ignore me." said Fiyero.

"It's called sleeping." Elphaba laughed.

"Well you don't have to ignore me while you sleep." Fiyero pretended to be offended. They both laughed.

"So, what happened to Linus?" asked Elphaba, they both quickly become solemn.

"He was buried quickly once he got here. He was buried by all the other soldiers we've lost in this war." said Fiyero, "He's a special note on his headstone to honor him." Elphaba nodded.

"Frex came in and saw me passing over information." said Elphaba, "And he-he shot Linus." Fiyero nodded gravely, then remembered again Elphaba couldn't see him.

"I see." he said instead.

"Frex is trying to get the Great Kells to get them to fight for him. You need to tell James to get to them first." said Elphaba, "They'll fight for whoever asks them first."

"Ok." said Fiyero, "I'll go do that, right after I--"

"After you what?" asked Elphaba.

"Do this." he kissed her again, and they both laughed as they fell back on the blankets.


	36. Horrible Morrible

**(A/N: I'm sorry for the wait you guys! I love you all so much for reading my crap. It makes me feel like can make good attempts at writing. Anyhu, thank you if you reviewed, and if any of you who read this story aren't updating your own stories that I love, update them! oopdate! you know who you are. I think there are a few more chapters left in this story, I'm debating over a sequel or not...I don't think I'll do one, I've too many other crappy stories to work on. Gosh, fanfiction is hard work! It's like I've got a job trying to update for you guys! I try to set deadlines for myself, but I've never been very good at deadlines, hehe, oh what will I do when school starts? Well, I might actually be done with this story by the time school starts. Tell me, do freshmen really get stuffed in trashcans? I hope not. Sorry for rambling, onto the story: oh, and please review :)**

"Father, I'm fine really." said Elphaba as she felt the tears on James's face, burning her skin lightly. James shook his head and wiped the few tears away, not wanting Elphaba to hurt herself. He wrapped her in a big hug and held her for a long time. She was so strong; anyone else would be a broken mess by now. He closed his eyes as he held her. She was finally back, but he couldn't be as happy because she was _blind, _Oz damn it. Not that that changed how much he loved her, of course it didn't, but it changed how happy _she_ would ever be. It made him want to kill Frex himself.

Fiyero stood in the background, smiling sadly at the scene. Elphaba's glassy eyes stared over James's shoulder, unseeing. She might have been looking at Fiyero had she not been blind.

"What was it you wanted to tell me Fabala?" asked James.

"That--" she began, but was interrupted as shots and shouts were heard. A soldier ran in, panicked.

"Sir!" he said urgently, "Frex and his men are coming right now! And they've got the Great Kells on their side!" he cried. Fiyero quickly moved forward and grabbed Elphaba, wrapping his arms around her protectively.

"Stay here Elphaba!" James yelled as he followed the soldier out, "Fiyero, stay with her!" Fiyero didn't even need asking.

**********

Madame Morrible sat in her office in the palace, going over the plan she'd drawn out. It was so simple really. She could predict people's emotions _so_ easily. For one, she knew Frex was going to go after Elphaba again, that much was absolutely obvious. And of course the stupid prince would try to save her...and in doing so, he'd put himself in danger and then the girl would try and save him. There were a total of four people she needed to kill if she wanted to rule Oz: Frex, Fiyero, James and Elphaba. She was pretty sure she knew how to get all of this accomplished without having to kill them herself, they would kill each other or themselves. It was a shame she didn't have a direct killing curse up her sleeve, that way planning things out would be a lot easier. Well actually, it didn't matter all that much if Fiyero turned out dead or not, he was not fighting for the crown or in line, but he would probably make things a whole lot harder if he was alive.

*************

After the battle, James and Frex met at the borderline again. Both were furious, shaking with rage. Frex stood still, his face red while James barreled towards him. Frex didn't expect what happened next. James pulled his fist back and punched Frex as hard as he could. Frex fell backward, holding his jaw. He glared fiercely at James and raised his own fist. James punched him in the stomach and Frex bent over in pain.

"Are you _happy_?!" James hissed, "Are you proud? Do you feel good about what you did to my daughter?!" he punched him again.

"It was Morrible!" said Frex pathetically, "And no, I'm not happy."

"Like _hell_ you aren't!" James roared, making to punch him again. Frex's men rushed forward and pushed James back. A few Gale Force members came up, ready to start a fist fight, but James stopped them, "I'll stop." he said, glaring at Frex, who had just straightened up.

"You had no right to take her." Frex growled. James laughed hollowly, angrily.

"No _right_?!" he shouted at Frex, "You're telling me I had no right to save _my_ daughter before you _killed_ her?! You had no right to kidnap her in the first place!"

"I had no right?" asked Frex, "I wouldn't have had to kidnap her if you hadn't gone around and claimed to be her father! _You_ were the one who took her from _me_! Therefore, _I_ didn't kidnap anyone!"

"You were a _fugitive_! You lost custody of your children once you broke the law!" James roared, getting ready to hit him again.

"There was never a trial!"

"Yeah, 'cause you ran from it! You can't call 'no trial' when you're the one that made it that way! So don't act like _I_ had no right to anything." James spat, "And what do you know about rights? You kept her in your home like a slave!"

"It doesn't matter, because I was her _father_, I AM her father." said Frex, "What proof do you have that she's yours, biologically speaking? Are you even blood related to her?!"

"Oh, you didn't know?!" asked James, "Your wife, Melena, cheated on you! She never _loved_ you! You were just some man she had been forced to marry because of arrangements made by your parents. She _hated_ you! She carried an affair with me behind your back, before I became Wizard while you off crusading the about Oz trying to convert people, so yes, I am Elphaba's _biological_ father." Frex hit James hard then and it was unearthly silent.

"See?" said James, "You've got nothing at all anymore, and you will lose this war and I will kill you myself."

************

Fiyero woke up the next morning earlier than Elphaba. She lay next to him, her head on his shoulder. He let his fingers slide through her silken hair as he stared into space, thinking. It was still hard for him to comprehend what had happened to Elphaba. How much would this change? She couldn't be as independent as she once was, as she loved being. Would it tear her apart, or would she accept it? It already seemed like she had accepted it with a heavy heart. Last night, Morrible had been captured. She'd been put in a cage and in a tent that was under high supervision. Her spell book had been taken, but they still didn't know how dangerous she was. All they knew was that she was the one who had blinded Elphaba. Fiyero really wanted to kill the old witch. He felt Elphaba stir.

"Morning." Fiyero said.

"Morning." Elphaba mumbled sleepily. Fiyero smiled and kissed her gently. She laughed and snuggled closer to him.

"So..." Fiyero began, "last night, Morrible was caught." he felt Elphaba tense.

"And?" she asked.

"She's pretty much just at prisoner. Her spell book has been taken away, and right now Galinda is trying to see if she can read any of it to fix your um...eyes." said Fiyero.

"I doubt Galinda will be able to read anything from it." Elphaba sighed, "It's the Grimmerie, the language isn't Ozian, and it's very, very rare that someone is able to read it."

"Elphaba, I saw Morrible last night as I was walking back to our tent. I know how much you want your sight back, but if she will need her spell book back, and I'm sure that the moment we give it back, she will do something terrible with it. She might hurt you more, or escape, kill someone. Just promise me that you won't go to Morrible."

"But she--" Elphaba began.

"She could kill you Elphaba!" Fiyero said, "She will lie and the moment she gets her spell book back, she might--"

"Alright." Elphaba said quietly, "I promise."

"Thank you." Fiyero whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "I love you."

"I love you too." she sighed.

***********

Morrible sat in the stupid cage, a smug smile still smeared across her face. Usually one would be mad at being captured and put in a cage, but this just made it even the slightest bit easier for her! It would be so much easier for Elphaba to find Morrible now. Because Morrible had no doubt in her mind that Elphaba would come to her, she knew she would, it was so obvious, so guaranteed. Tomorrow those four would die. They would kill each other, or themselves and Morrible wouldn't even have to lift a finger.


	37. Madness

**(A/N: Well, usually I start these thingy magig's off by apologizing for the wait, but LOOK OUT cause you actually did not have to wait that long! This chapter is rather confusing and angsty and stuff. It is a bit important though for the following chapters. Thanks for all the reviews! Speakign or reviews...Pernicia, are you still there? I miss your reviews! **** :( I was even rather reluctant to post this without you reviewing, because you usually review....oh well, ANYHU, here is the next chapter and yes, it is a little .... weird, but review anyway! Lol)**

The next morning Elphaba woke up early. She reached a hand out cautiously and felt Fiyero's soft skin under her gentle fingertips. She let her fingers drift to his lips, but she didn't touch them. She waited for his breath to tickle her skin, slowly and rhythmically to confirm that he was asleep. She knew it was early and that everyone was asleep because it was silent except for a few birds singing. She slowly crawled out of the tent. She always felt like she was going to fall if she took one more step. She always felt like there was a ditch in front of her and she just couldn't see it. She always felt like there was a wall or closed door in front of her. She wanted to see so badly. She felt the soft lush grass beneath her hands and knees as she crawled out. She slowly stood up. Who knows, there might have been something above her to hit her on the head. She walked forward slow as possible, just in case she ran into another tent. She wanted to pretend like she didn't know where she was going. She wanted to pretend that she was just...going for a walk. But she wasn't, she knew where she was going. Though, honestly, she didn't know _why_ she was going there. There seemed to be a voice in her head telling her what to do, she followed it for even _more_ unkown reasons.

_North, just keep going North, straight ahead! _

It guided her to Morrible's tent, which was just beyond the closest tree to the campsite. The voice had a relaxing, caring tone. It told her where the other tents were so she wouldn't run into them.

_Careful now child, there is a tent in front of you, go to your right! _

Soon Elphaba found herself trusting the voice. And the voice grinned as it realized it had gained the trust of the foolish girl.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Elphaba felt the rough bark of a tree under her soft hand. She stepped forward, and felt the roots under her bare foot. She walked forward, her heart beating fast and faster as she realized Morrible's tent was close...and getting closer...

_Yes, closer! Keep coming...closer..._closer_!_

The voice soon became ragged and louder as it got more excited, more anxious. The cycler in Elphaba's heart pedaled faster and faster. She soon heard her own breathing becoming ragged as well as she got closer...

****************

Fiyero opened his eyes, looking straight up at the fabric ceiling of the tent. He rolled over to see if Elphaba was awake, but she wasn't there. He turned to his other side.

"Elphaba?" he asked the vacancy. The emptiness laughed cruelly at him as his panic rose. Where was she? She wouldn't have gone anywhere by herself, would she? Where would she have gone? Fiyero quickly walked outside and looked around, but the he didn't see her. He went to Galinda's tent first, but she wasn't there. He back pedaled to James' tent, she wasn't there either. He checked on Nessa and Fredrick's tent then, but she wasn't there either. There was nowhere else she could've gone! Fiyero racked his hands over his face in vain as he tried to think of where she---no. Fiyero fearfully looked up in the direction of Morrible's tent. He saw a soft light coming from within it, and then he saw Elphaba vanish inside the tent. Fear was like a sheet wrapping around him, tying his limbs together as he began to run to Elphaba.

*************

Elphaba felt the fabric of the tent brush against her leg and she stopped in front of the tent.

_Come in! _

The voice urged her forward, pulling her in with its claws. She felt the voice wrap around her. Suddenly, the voice was not as warm as it had first been. It did not relax her, but frightened her. It was impatient as it snatched at her arm and wrist and tugged her forward. This time Elphaba was compelled to follow by fear. She did not find this voice so trustworthy anymore. She let her fingers slide through the flaps of the tent and she ducked in carefully.

_Pick up the book and give it to me._

Elphaba looked around, but she couldn't see. _Where is it?_ She asked in her head. The voice heard her, and for some reason she wasn't surprised. Did it frighten her that she wasn't surprised?

_To your right!_

It hissed impatiently yet coaxingly. Elphaba turned to her right, her hands groping in the darkness that was actually light for this _book_. She felt her hands land on the plush leather binding of a thick voluminous book. Her fingertips danced around the carved in letters on the book, trying to make out what the book said.

_It says Remedy Spells_

Something inside Elphaba told her that the voice was lying. Something just wasn't clicking as her fingertips traced a very definite 'G'. She frowned and traced the 'G' again. There was no G in Remedy or Spells.

"Elphaba, stop!" she heard a different voice now. Was this one in her head as well? It sounded louder, much less personal. It was a male's voice, and it was out of breath as though from running. It seemed desperate, shocked, scared; anxious. Why was he telling her to stop? She paused.

_Pay no attention to him, just give me the book!_

The voice was panicked now, distracting her. Which voice should she focus on? Which voice was the _real_ distraction? The first voice had been so nice in leading her here, and making sure she didn't run into anything or trip. But where was exactly the 'here' that it had lead her to? But as time irked on, the voice had become less inviting, more forceful. This other voice didn't seem bad...it seemed familiar actually come to think of it...so did the first voice...but why couldn't she remember? What had happened to her _own_ voice...?

Morrible watched the girl battling with all the voices in her head. She might have laughed aloud and just waited for the girl to go mad, but she needed her to be sane for the later part of her plan. She wasn't concerned that the prince was coming to 'foil her plans', because caught frankly, he wasn't 'foiling' anything at all, his coming was all part of the plan actually. But nobody could know that. She needed to convince both him and the girl that her plan had been foiled, that his really wasn't just a small part of her much larger plan that would take place later today. So she put the girl under a simple spell she had memorized, it was the only one she knew, to put voices in her head, read her thoughts. She pretended as though she was going to curse the girl or kill her or something equally terrifying.

"Elphaba! Don't give it to her!" Fiyero yelled, almost there now. Elphaba was confused. Was that her name? Elphaba? She tried to remember if it was or not. And why was he trying to stop her from giving to the book to the voice? Why didn't she want her to give it to her? She soon gave up on these unanswerable questions and returned her attention to the book, ignoring his voice. So many voices! They would be the end of her for sure. She traced the 'G' again. _You're lying, _she thought venomously, _why? I thought you were on my side._ Wait, were there sides now?

_Of course I'm on your side child, I led you to me didn't I? Give me the book and I can give you your sight back. Give it to me and you won't be blind any longer. He's trying to stop you from getting what you want. Don't listen to him, he doesn't want you to be happy, he's trying to sabotage us._

So she and this voice were an 'us' now? They were on the same side and this other voice evidently wasn't. Was she working with this voice? Were they good people? She didn't know, but she wanted her sight back, and something inside her knew that the only way she would ever get it back was if she gave this voice the book. _Where are you? _she asked.

Fiyero burst into the tent just as Elphaba was about to hand the book to Morrible. He pulled Elphaba back away from Morrible who was staring hungrily at the book in Elphaba's outstretched hands. He grabbed the book out of Elphaba's hand and threw it across the tent. She struggled in his grasp desperately, even though she sensed the comfortable familiarity of his arms. Why was she struggling when she liked this feeling?

_Kill him!_

_What?! _Elphaba screamed in her mind, she didn't want to kill him. She loved him! Wait, who was 'him'? What was going on? These voices...? His voice? Why did she love him? Was that her voice just then? Elphaba screamed out in desperation, feeling as though the last strands of sanity were slipping from her mind. She grabbed her head and kept struggling to get out of his grasp. She fell to her knees, screaming as unimaginable stabs of pain struck her head.

Fiyero fell to his knees beside her, holding her tightly. He saw Morrible whispering things, but he couldn't understand what she was saying. Her eyes were trained on Elphaba, intensely as she muttered and hissed this foreign language that was obviously causing Elphaba a lot of pain. He made the connection.

"Stop!" Fiyero yelled at Morrible. Morrible ignored him. But she took heed to his message. She knew she had to stop soon, or the girl would go mad and she couldn't have that happening. She just had to make sure of one more thing....

_Do you know where you are?!_

"No!" Elphaba screamed aloud, as well as in her mind. She screamed louder in agony as she felt as though someone had stuck needles into her head. She jerked erratically in Fiyero's arms.

"Elphaba, what's wrong?!" Fiyero cried in desperation.

_Do you know where you are _now_ dearie?_

It was as though the mask the voice had hid behind had been dropped and Elphaba realized who this voice belonged to. _Morrible. _

_That's right dearie. Now you know where to find me._

And with that, Morrible undid the spell with satisfaction.


	38. Black Tides

**(A/N: ok, here's a quicky update! Oz, this story is nearing it's ending. And to those you who thought that Elphaba had lost her memory in teh last chapter, that isn't the case, it was just that she was under a spell that takes over your mind briefly. This chapter will show that she most definitley did not lose her memoiriry (yes, that is correct spelling). This update is pretty long for me I think...and it might get confusifying, but just remember, I'm not the best at making up plots as you can see my story evidently has more than 1...oops. Anyhu, I hope you enjoy, thanks for reviewing if you did and review again if you like! I apologize for any typos. I actually did not sleep at all last night, I literally stayed up all night, and I am still up, it is scary really. And guess what i was doing? Reading an uber long fanfiction, seriously, fanfiction will be the death of me! lol, ok I'll stop rambling now...review! :)**

Elphaba felt a cold sweat wash over her and her muscles tense up as she was released from the spell. She drew in shaky, ragged breaths as the pain vanished all at once. Morrible had been in her head. Elphaba felt Fiyero holding her. She felt the slight quiver in his strong arms, he was scared for her. She suddenly remembered the promise she'd made to Fiyero just earlier.

"Fiyero I--" she began, "—I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't mean to come here. I really didn't, I promise you." she said.

"I know, I know." Fiyero whispered, holding her tighter. Elphaba felt so strange, it was the worst feeling, knowing someone had been in your head, controlling you, it made Elphaba sick. She held onto Fiyero tighter. They both seemingly forgot Morrible still there, and she ignored them.

"C'mon." said Fiyero, "Let's go back to our tent." As Fiyero led Elphaba back, she couldn't help but dwell over the last thing Morrible had told her before she'd broken the spell. _Now you know where to find me. _What did she mean by that? Did she expect Elphaba to come looking for her again or something? Why would she do that? Elphaba shook her head and just stopped thinking about it all together; she was too stressed as it was.

Later, around noon as Elphaba and Fiyero sat in their tent together, just..._being_ together, Elphaba couldn't help but feel as though something terrible was going to happen today. She tried not to think about it because she wanted t cherish her moments with Fiyero, but it just kept nagging at her like an itch she couldn't reach. For a moment she thought Morrible had spelled her again, but she dismissed that quickly. But still, that overwhelming dark wave of...disaster was slowly washing over their blissful sands. She didn't tell Fiyero about her worries, she didn't want to worry him, and she'd probably sound like she was off her head too.

Sometime around early afternoon, Elphaba felt that black wave relaxing as it drew back into the sea away from her mind. She'd been on edge the entire day, waiting for something terrible to happen. She finally let herself breathe as she realized she was just being paranoid. That's all it was, nothing was going to happen...

**********

With the Great Kells added to the game, the sides were even and the battle was worse than any other. Not a single man could be spared to stay back in territory. The medical tents couldn't even be operated because they needed them to fight. So the Wizard's territory consisted of only a few children who had been rescue earlier and women and Elphaba, Fiyero and Galinda.

"I knew something bad was going to happen." Elphaba moaned as she pressed her face to Fiyero's shoulder. He rubbed her back, but didn't know what to say. Not even Galinda could think of a positive thing to say. The battle seemed to be a bit closer to Wizard territory this time, so the shots sounded like they were coming from right outside their tent, but of course, they weren't. Galinda was actually biting her nails as she sat waiting for the battle to end.

"Fiyero, you'd never kill anybody, would you?" asked Elphaba quietly. He barely heard her over the chaos the battle created. A cacophony of shots and cannons and clinking swords filled the air. If she had asked him a few months ago, his answer would have been no, he couldn't kill anybody. But now...all he could think about was what Frex had done to her, what Morrible had done to her. He hated to admit it, and he felt sick for it, but he knew that if he had the chance, he wouldn't hesitate to kill either of them.

"Fiyero?" her voice shook him and he realized he still hadn't answered her question.

"I don't know Elphaba." he whispered as the savage in him lusted for the sheer satisfaction of killing Frex and Morrible _himself_. He shuddered as the thoughts entered his mind. It was so savage and disgusting to _want_ to kill someone. Killing someone in itself was terrible, but _wanting_ too? He shook his head, hoping to rid those thoughts.

"What do you mean you don't know?" asked Elphaba, sounding disappointed and disapproving of the answer he'd given her. He didn't say anything. Elphaba knew what he meant, "You meant 'yes' didn't you. You would kill someone." Fiyero sighed heavily.

"Yes I would." said Fiyero.

"Why?" asked Elphaba.

"Because of what they did to you!" Fiyero sputtered as though that should have been obvious.

"Oh." said Elphaba. She reached up and touch is face lightly because she couldn't look into his eyes anymore to convey the atmosphere. She felt a pang to her heart when she realized that she never would be able to look into his eyes, those deep blue orbs of swirling ocean waves. It was almost enough to make her own useless eyes sting with moisture. Damn, if she couldn't see, she shouldn't be able to cry! She returned to the task at hand, "Fiyero," she said.

"Yes, love?" he asked. She blushed a little, but continued.

"I want you to promise me that you won't ever kill anybody." she said, "Even for me."

"Elphaba--" he began.

"I mean not for revenge or anything. Promise me you won't." Elphaba said.

"I--" he stuttered, he didn't know if he could make such a promise, the desire was so deep.

"I promised not to go to Morrible." she reminded him. He sighed heavily.

"Alright, I promise." Fiyero finally said.

"Thank you." Elphaba whispered and kissed him gently. Galinda gasped loudly and they broke apart.

"What is it Galinda?" asked Elphaba. Fiyero quickly pulled Elphaba behind him as he followed Galinda's line of vision. Frexspar Thropp stood there, infuriated and vengeful and looking determined to have something. A sword covered in blood draped from his large hand. Frex was staring at Elphaba, his eyes red with wanting. She couldn't see him, and she didn't know what was going on.

"Fiyero, what's wrong?" asked Elphaba. Everyone was unearthly silent as they waited for Frex to make his move. While Frex contemplated his next move of action, Fiyero noticed a fine sword lying a bit away from him. He let his right hand creep towards it, but kept both eyes trained on Frex. Suddenly that desire to kill him had bubbled up in him again, like tow bad chemicals had been mixed. He suddenly remembered his promise to Elphaba. He would try his hardest not to kill Frex, but if he didn't, it was only to protect her. Frex pointed the tip of his sword at Fiyero.

"Get away from her boy, she's mine." said Frex. Elphaba gasped as she realized who it was.

"Over my dead body!" Fiyero yelled and he grabbed the sword quickly and made to strike Frex with it. Surprisingly, Frex blocked it, it seemed to surprise him too. Fiyero worked to force Frex out of the tent. He had to get him as far away from Elphaba as possible, "Elphaba stay there, Galinda, watch her!" Fiyero yelled over his shoulder as he began fighting Frex in the direction of the forest.

**********

Elphaba stood up as she heard the metal clash. Fiyero was going to kill Frex, or Frex would kill Fiyero. She knew that it wouldn't end until one of them ended up dead. She had a lot of confidence in Fiyero for some reason, that he would kill Frex. She didn't care so much that he'd be breaking his promise, just that he would remain alive. Elphaba knew it was useless to go after them, she'd only get in Fiyero's way because she wouldn't be able to see.

"Don't worry, Fiyero will be fine, he always is." Galinda reassured Elphaba nicely, patting her friend's shoulder with a shaking hand, a dead giveaway that she didn't believe a thing she just said.

"I know," said Elphaba, "I have confidence in Fiyero to--" Suddenly Elphaba had a flashback. The black that had become her 24/7 vision had molded into a scene that she could see! But it was just a flashback, so of course she could see it.

_Morrible and Frex stood at the door to her tower room, or prison, both suited. They were discussing ways to win the war, strategies, spells, etc. Elphaba was too exhausted and in too much pain to care what they were saying, she couldn't even understand them. But now that she looked back on this as a flashback, she understood them perfectly._

_"You see Sir, there is no immortality spell." said Morrible, "But, I think that if you do not win this war, neither should James. I think that if you die, he should die to, no?"_

_"I suppose." Frex grumbled._

_"I know a spell that will make him die the moment you do, and whoever killed you will die." _

_"Why should I care about a stupid spell like that when I'm trying to win a war alive, not dead?" Frex spat, "Although I guess maybe there is some appeal to that. If I don't win Oz, then he shouldn't be able to win it either. Go ahead cast the spell, I don't care, it's not like anybody is going to be killing me anytime soon anyway." Frex waved his hand dismissively. Morrible cracked an evil smile and told him she'd cast it later that day._

"Elphie!" Galinda was yelling her name. She had tried waving a hand in front of her friend's face before eh remembered she was blind. Suddenly, Elphaba seemed to come back to the world of the living as she gasped loudly.

"Oh my _god_ Galinda, he's going to die!" Elphaba screamed.

"What? What are you talking about?" asked Galinda.

"All three of them!" Elphaba shouted, "James and Fiyero and Frex!" she stood up, "Fiyero can't kill Frex, he'll die! Oz, I have to stop him!" Elphaba finally knew what Morrible meant and what the whole ordeal had been about that morning. Elphaba needed her sight back if she was going to find Fiyero in time to stop him. And only Morrible could do that. She had to lead Elphaba to her first so that Elphaba would know where Morrible's tent was! Elphaba felt sick for falling straight into Morrible game, but she was desperate, she didn't care, Fiyero couldn't die! Oh Oz, he couldn't die. Elphaba began to leave the tent, already knowing which turns to make, as she had somehow memorized the route she'd taken in the morning. She felt Galinda pull her back, but Elphaba was frantic.

"Let go!" she screamed at Galinda.

"No!" Galinda cried holding on tighter, "You're going to Morrible aren't you! _Aren't you_! After you promised Fiyero you wouldn't! She will kill you Elphaba! Don't go to her!"

"Let go!" Elphaba screamed, desperation and panic pricking at her every nerve, Fiyero could be dead right now! James could be dead, she had to stop them, "You don't understand Galinda, he's going to _die_! They're all going to die! I have to stop him, please, _please_ let me go!" she tried begging, but Galinda held her own. Finally Elphaba had enough, her fear for Fiyero was controlling her completely now. She shoved Galinda off roughly. Galinda fell back and stumbled, falling on the ground. Elphaba didn't waste time checking to see if she was alright. It was heartless, but her Fiyero's and James' life were at stake, she didn't have time! She began sprinting in the direction she knew Morrible's tent was in. She tripped a lot, but none of that mattered, the only thing that mattered was getting to _Fiyero_.

When she felt she was near enough to Morrible tent to slow down, she cautiously put her hands in front of her to be her eyes as she felt her way to where the tent should be. Her hand ran into the rough bark and she tripped over the root of the tree but she finally made it inside.

"Morrible?!" she screamed, even though she knew she was right there, somewhere very close to her in the tent, "Morrible?! Where the _fuck_ are you?!" Elphaba screamed. She didn't get a reply but she knew Morrible was there. She rushed to the corner of the tent where she remembered Fiyero throwing the book. She fell to her hands and knees as she felt around for the leather bound Grimmerie. Finally her hand brushed against the thick book.

"I take it my directions this morning worked well?" Morrible asked, as though commenting on the weather. Elphaba screamed in frustration, Fiyero could die any minute now! She _needed_ to find him!

"Here's your fucking book!" Elphaba screamed and threw the book in the direction she heard Morrible's voice coming from, "Just give me my sight back!" Morrible picked up the spell book, already skimming through it for the spell.

"Oh figured out the spell I put on Frex did you? I didn't think it'd take you long." Morrible humbled, "And, oh how nice of you, you've brought me my spell book. What was it you wanted? Your sight?"

"Do the spell, I know you know it!" Elphaba snapped.

"You're going to have to ask a little nicer than that Miss Elphaba." Morrible tutted.

"_Please_." Elphaba hissed.

"That's better dearie." Morrible said, "Now what will you give me in return?"

"Anything!" Elphaba screamed.

"Your life?"

"Yes, whatever it takes, just hurry up!" Elphaba screamed at her. Morrible smiled widely as she began to chant. Elphaba stood still as she listened to the wicked words flying out of Morrible's mouth, but no matter how wicked they were, they were working. The first thing Elphaba saw was green lush grass, it had never looked more beautiful. She blinked as the blur in her eyes disappeared completely. For a moment, she just marveled at how beautiful everything looked. Right now, she might even think her own skin was beautiful.

"Child, you do know that once he's out of danger, you will die, don't you? That was our agreement, your life for his. You can't live while he does." Morrible said evilly, "I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into." Elphaba didn't answer as she ran out of the tent. She didn't have time to dwell on the fact that she was going to die if she stopped Fiyero, she _couldn't_ let _him_ die. His life meant so much more to her than her own life meant. She just knew in her gut that Fiyero couldn't die! She needed him too much. Though when it came down to it, it didn't really matter if she needed him or not, she'd be dead. But she loved him too much to just let him die. She wanted to cover her ears as the gun shots from the close battlefield shot through her sound system like needles. Each shot stung, making the ground she ran on vibrate and her very being shake. All she could think about as she ran was seeing Fiyero again. She imagined his blue eyes in her mind as she ran. She found them in a cramped clearing deep in the woods. Both were cut and bleeding, but still fighting strong.

"STOP!" she screamed, but both of them were beyond hearing anything. They were both deaf to everything. They were numb to everything. They were blind to everything. All of their senses had been clouded by the desire to kill the other. They were robots suddenly, designed for one purpose: to kill. Neither would have any distractions. Frex had forgotten what they were fighting about in the first place, but Fiyero didn't forget, he remembered. He was fighting for _Elphaba_. He didn't hear her as she screamed for him to stop, desperation loud in her usually calm voice. All his attention was on Frex. He finally saw it. He went for the opportunity. Frex stumbled, leaving himself open as his arms flew out instinctively to catch himself. Fiyero went for the kill—

"Yero, no!" the voice caught him off guard. He didn't want to turn to acknowledge it, he was about to kill Frex! Wait...Yero...

"Elphaba?!" Fiyero yelled, spinning around. He saw her standing there, holding him back. The first thing he saw was the brown of her warm chocolate eyes. Wait—the brown of her eyes.., "Elphaba, can you see me?" asked Fiyero. She nodded, looking deep into his blue eyes. She had tears running down her face.

"Fiyero, I was so scared!" she managed to say, pulling him to her and kissing him repeatedly, he responded intensely, he sensed desperation in her kisses, like they were her last, what was going on?

"Every second could've been the one that you died. But you're not! Oz, I love you so much!" she said in between kisses, "Fiyero, promise me you'll watch Galinda when I'm gone...and Nessa...and James..."

"What are you talking about? You're not going anywhere." said Fiyero, panicked at what she was implying.

"Fiyero, I went to Morrible to get my sight back so I could stop you from killing Frex. Whoever kills him will die, and if he dies, so does James'--" Elphaba began.

"Elphaba, you're _not_ going to die!" Fiyero took her by the shoulders and shook her, not gently, but not rough either. He felt his own tears of fear and desperation leak down his face. Die? What was she talking about? She wasn't going to die. He just had to make sure that neither of them killed Frex; that Frex lived.

"She said as soon as I stop you, I'll die!" Elphaba said frantically, "Which is fine, you'll be fine without me--"

"No, I won't be!" Fiyero said, "I won't be fine without you! But can't you see, you've already stopped me, and you're not dead! Maybe she messed up the spell or something!" They both waited with baited breaths and nothing happened. They were both happy for a moment as they realized that maybe things were going to be alright. In all the chaos, they'd forgotten Frex, and the shots from the battlefield were loud enough to drown out any sounds he might make. He was suddenly running at Fiyero, his sword seconds away from killing him. Fiyero reacted quickly though, he raised his own sword, but suddenly it was gone. Frex gasped as he fell to his knees and Elphaba screamed as pain rippled through her body. She was so afraid Fiyero was going to kill Frex, she had thrown the sword out of Fiyero's hands, only with Frex running so fast at them, he ran straight through the blade and it struck right through this heart. Elphaba was the last to touch the weapon that killed Frex. The spell recognized her as Frex's killer. She felt the sword puncture her heart, even though there was no sword there. Frex fell backwards with a loud sickening thud, the sword sticking up out of his chest, splattering with his blood.

************

James was fighting in battle when he felt a terrible pain in his chest. He looked down, expecting there to be a sword jutting out of his chest, but there was nothing. He felt his breaths begin to come in short gasps as he lost more blood, but how could he be losing blood? There wasn't a scratch on him. It wasn't long before he realized he was going to die. And it wasn't long before he did.

*********

Fiyero hardly registered what had happened as he caught Elphaba in his arms as she fell. Her eyes did not close gracefully as her heart stopped beating, but stayed open, unseeing. She didn't even get to tell him she loved him one last time before she died like in those stupid cheesy books. It was like someone had just pulled a switch and that was it. She felt nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing, she was _gone_. Oh Oz, why did she have to break her promise and go to Morrible? He would have died for her in a heartbeat, and apparently, she would do the same for him, _had_ done the same for him.


	39. And you didn't tell ME!

**(A/N: Tis not the last chapter, but this story is almost over. I got so many reviews for the last chapter, it was so sweet, even if most of the reviews were based around teh question: WHAT THE FRICK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! YOU CAN'T KILL ELPHABA! and if that wasn't it, it was: I WILL KILL MORRIBLE MYSELF! Regardless, they were all lovely in some way or another. Oh, and did anyone here that Annaliese Van Der Pol (Chelsea from the terrible show, "That's So Raven")will be playing Galinda in the movie version of WICKED? It was on IMDB and I totally freaked otu because she CANNOT play Galidna! No! NEVER! If she does, I probably will not see the movie...ok, I probably will, but still, I won't like it! UGH! It just made me so mad, the site better have a made a glitch! UGHUDFS%^&S*DIOFUKJLSDVH! Alright, enough of my ranting, onto the chapter:)**

He didn't know how long her lay with her. He couldn't even really cry yet, all her could do was stare into space. His arms were wrapped around her small lifeless body. She was getting colder by the second and her skin seemed to pale with the moonlight that washed over the clearing. Frex still lay dead a few yards away. He had eventually stopped bleeding. Fiyero didn't bother to remove the sword from his chest. The moonlight struck the sword and it's beams split across the clearing, dancing across his and Elphaba's bodies. Fiyero still couldn't believe what had happened. He couldn't believe she was _dead_. Didn't she know how much he needed her? Who did she think she was, leaving him like that? Who was she to decide which one of them lived or died?! For a split second, Fiyero became angry with Elphaba and he drew away from her still body. But before he could hardly register his anger, he felt the tears on his face. He couldn't be angry with her. He could never be angry with her. He loved her too much. He crawled back to where she lay and lay down beside her again, wrapping his arms around her still frame again. The battle had ended only a few moments ago. Fiyero didn't know who'd won, but at this point, he was beyond carrying. Both leaders were dead now anyway, Oz would just enter another war without a leader. Fiyero closed his eyes as the slick tears slid out of the corners of his eyes.

***************

James had been brought back to his tent once his body was found. A million doctors had already checked him for any wounds, but there were none. Nobody could understand why he had died or how. It turned up that the Princess and Prince Fiyero had gone missing. Morrible had escaped from her cage, the Grimmerie was gone with her. Galinda had been found in Elphaba's tent, knocked out, but she was fine. Nessa and Fredrick were both fine. A search party had been sent out for Fiyero and Elphaba and Morrible. They'd won the war yes, but their leader was dead. What were they supposed to do now?

**************

Morrible rumpled through the forest, looking for the clearing she knew the Fiyero and Frex had gone to. She knew it was somewhere deeper in the woods, but not terribly far. She heard voices calling Fiyero and Elphaba's names. She ducked behind trees as she waited for the search party to move along. Luckily they went in the opposite direction and Morrible crept back out. She had to make sure the girl was dead and Frex too. She finally saw the clearing, the moonlight seemed to have beams only for it. The first thing she saw was Frex's still body, a sword jutting out of his chest. The next thing she saw was Elphaba, her eyes were lifeless and she was obviously dead. Then she saw Fiyero, he lay next to her, though she couldn't tell if he was dead or not from where she stood. She crept closer and accidentally stepped on a twig, the stick cracking loudly in the silent night. Fiyero sat up straight as he heard the noise. He immediately saw Morrible and his veins began to fill with hate. He leapt up and stood in front of Elphaba's body protectively. Morrible's eyes widened as she realized he was alive. She saw the tear tracks on his face and soon devised a plan to save herself.

"Oh, if it isn't the Prince." said Morrible cheekily. Fiyero just glared at her.

"You killed her." he growled.

"Me?" asked Morrible, "It was you." Fiyero's face reflected his shock perfectly and Morrible knew she'd hit a chord. She muttered the spell under her breath and entered his mind.

_She's dead because of you, you're the reason she's gone._

Fiyero heard the voice in his head hiss those accusing words at him. He shook his head no. No! I didn't kill her! It was Morrible! It was all Morrible's fault!

_She killed Frex for you Fiyero so that you wouldn't die. She saved you and in exchange for her own life, and you let her. How could you do such a thing? Why didn't you stop her? You could have saved her life…she would be alive right now if not for your selfishness._

No, that's not true! She---there was nothing I could do! Everything was moving too fast—I—

_Excuses, excuses! Stop trying to free yourself of the guilt that you killed her. I thought you loved her—_

I do!

_Then why did you kill her?_

I didn't!

_You did! You're a murderer, you killed her, you killed Frex, you killed James--_

I didn't!

_Murderer!_

Fiyero felt a sharp pain in his head and he fell to his knees. Morrible was circling him now, a dagger hidden behind her back. He wasn't paying her any attention, he couldn't, all he could pay attention to was the voice in his head. He hadn't killed Elphaba, he hadn't. Wait—had he? –no! Fiyero put his head in his hands and ground his teeth together, trying to fight off the maddening voices. He knew in his gut that these voices were not true, they were all lies and not his conscious, he knew he needed to break free. He'd watched Elphaba suffer through this. He concentrated hard on seeing and not hearing. Finally through the darkness her saw the hem of Morrible's dress and with a jolt her realized she was right next to him. He knew that now she wouldn't hesitate to drive him mad before killing him. Morrible didn't notice he'd broken free of the spell as she kept circling him. Fiyero saw out of the corner of his eye the glint of the dagger behind her back.

Before Morrible or Fiyero for that matter knew what had happened, Morrible's face had gone pale and she gasped as she felt something stab her through the heart. She looked down slowly at the sword in her chest and followed it to the end where Fiyero's hand held the holt tightly. They both glanced at Frex and saw that the sword had been taken out of his chest. Morrible looked for the most part, shocked. She'd never counted on dying, how had the mindless prince broken her spell?!Her eyes rolled in the back of her head and she fell in a heap at Fiyero's feet. Fiyero pulled the sword out of her body blood splattered everywhere. He flung the sword down and crumpled to the ground with it. He'd just killed someone. He'd just broken his promise to Elphaba. But she'd broken her promise to him…but that still didn't make things right! Fiyero glanced over at Morrible body. He raked his hands down his face. Suddenly, he heard a soft sound, almost a moan. He turned around and saw Elphaba slowly move her arm and put her hand to her head, as though soothing a head ache. Fiyero's jaw dropped. For a moment he couldn't move. Then the moment snapped and he was faster than lightning as he flew to her side. She saw him hovering above her and she wondered if he was dead too.

"Fiyero?" she whispered, reaching out to touch his face, seeing if he was really there.

"Elphaba." Fiyero breathed, was she alive? Was she truly alive? Or was he just imagining this in his desperation, his need for her? He stuttered, "I—I can't believe you're alive--"

"I am?" asked Elphaba, "but-but how?" Fiyero nodded to Morrible who was dead next to Frex. Elphaba's eyes widened as she took in the scene of Frex and Morrible both dead with blood draining out of their bodies. Every curse that Morrible had every made had died with her. Elphaba looked back at Fiyero who looked like he was worried about something, like he thought Elphaba was mad at him or something. He'd killed Morrible, there was no doubt when she saw the guilt written all over his face. He was ashamed of breaking his promise. She brought a hand to his face to comfort him.

"Now we know how much _your_ promises mean." she scolded, but her smile ruined it all. Fiyero laughed and cried as tears of relief trickled down his face.

"About as much as _your_ promises mean." he said. They both laughed and he quickly pulled her to him and kissed her. She laughed and kissed him back.

"You're getting tears all over my face." she pretended to be annoyed.

"Too bad." Fiyero said against her lips and she laughed again, brushing them away for him as she kissed him, "Oz Elphaba, I thought you were dead and—no wait, you were dead and I couldn't think or move or do anything because you were gone and then Morrible came and told me I'm the reason you're dead—and I'm…I'm really sorry--"

"Don't apologize." said Elphaba, pulling back, "Because I'm not going to apologize for breaking my promise, because I don't regret it at all."

"Of course you don't." Fiyero sighed, "And I definitely don't regret breaking my promise." Elphaba smiled softly at him.

"Of course you don't." she said. They were finally out of danger and Elphaba could finally indulge in the full excitement of having her sight back. She looked at Fiyero, never had he been more handsome. She looked into his eyes. They were so blue and showed so many emotions, "You're eyes are so blue." she whispered, a single tear forming in the corner of her eye. She gave him a watery smile.

"I know." said Fiyero smirked and she laughed, "Blue goes good with green."

***************

It was like he was just waking up. Everyone in the tent gasped loudly as he groaned and put a hand to his head to soothe the terrible headache. He sat up wearily and looked from one tear-streaked solemn face to the next and saw the looks of shock on all of their faces.

"What?" he asked, "What happened?"

"You—you were dead…" said Nessa quietly, letting a hand rest gently on James', Fredrick still looked like he'd seen a dead man wake up. His eyes were bigger than the moon. Galinda looked like she'd just swallowed a piece of gum.

"Was I?" asked James thoughtfully, "Are you dead as well? That would be very tragic dear. No wait—you said were…which means past tense, so that I means that I was dead, but am not anymore…well…that's just wonderful!" he exclaimed standing up, then he sat back down as his headache swirled around in his head, "Ow."

"Are you alright sir?" asked an advisor cautiously, wondering if the Wizard had gone mad.

"Never better Jerry!" James exclaimed, standing up again before sitting back down abruptly, "Ow."

"My name isn't Jerry…"

"Mike?"

"No."

"Joe?"

"No."

"Can I call you Rick?"

"Um…"

"Great! And you can call me…James." James smiled at him and stood up again, then he sat back down, "Ow." he muttered, putting a hand to his head again, "I believe I have a headache. So…the war, who won?"

"Oh, we did sir!" the advisory, newly named Rick, said. Everyone in the tent burst into celebration.

"That's wonderful!" James said, "Where's my daughter?" Everyone quieted down.

"She's…she, Fiyero, Morrible and Frex are all missing." said "Rick".

"What?" asked James.

"They--"

"I heard you the first time." said James, slumping down in a seat.

"We've got search parties out looking for them…." "Rick" said quietly. An uncomfortable, tense silence settled upon the tent. They heard footsteps and everyone become ultra alert. They say the tent flap open and Fiyero and Elphaba walk in.

"Elphie!" Galinda screamed and everyone winced at the volume. Galinda bolted for Elphaba and wrapped her arms around her in a hug that would probably have killed Elphaba all over again had Fiyero not gently pried Galinda off her.

"Careful Glin, Elphie just came back from the dead, you don't want to send her back do you?" asked Fiyero lightly.

"Dead? WHAT?!" Galinda yelled, "Elphie was DEAD and you didn't tell ME?!"

"Well I was a little busy grieving." Fiyero snapped.

"But I'M her best friend, if anyone gets to know when she dies, it should be ME!" Galinda whined.

"Hey now, I'm her sister." said Nessa, "I should have known. Elphaba, how could you tell Fiyero before your own sister that you were dead? What, is he more important than me?"

"Of course he is!" Galinda snapped at her and Nessa huffed. Elphaba looked at them in shock.

"Really, I _die_ and you guys are fighting over who found out first?! If I were dead, I wouldn't be able to TELL you anything!" she said incredulously. James stood up and Elphaba gave him an exasperated look that read: you too?!

"Hey now, I'm her _father_!" James said loudly. Everyone was quiet as they expected some sort of exclamatory statement, but he just smiled at Elphaba, "And I'm just glad she's _alive_." Elphaba smiled and James gave her a big hug. Galinda and Nessa silently resolved their fight and Fiyero rolled his eyes at them and this just started them all up again.

"Oh so you think YOU'RE special or something because Elphie told you first?!" they both shrieked. Everyone rolled their eyes in synchronization and Galinda and Nessa just huffed and stuck their tongues out at as many people as they could.


	40. Mourning the Wicked

**(A/N: hulo! Amazing reviews for the last one you guys! I'm typing this on my new laptop! DId I mention I got one in my last update? Hmm. I can't remember...but I did! I got it for tax free weekend costco. To anyone that's ever been to costco , you know that everything there is like, HUGE, so I got this laptop thinking it was small, because in comparison to the other's, it really did look small, then i get home and open it and it's friggin HUGE! I was like, WHOA, when did this get so big? But yeah. And OMO, the scariest thing just happened to me. I just got friggin' electrocuted. But it's not as bad as it may seem, but it scared teh shit out of me. I was plugging in my laptop to the plug behind my bed and I couldn't actually see it because it was behind my bed, so I was just like kinda of trying to feel where the plug was and put it in, but i put it in at an odd angle so I couldn't see and all of a sudden this shock just burst through my entire arm and it totally scared me! My hand is still really tingly and weak, so I'm mostly typing this with my left hand. It was the weirdest feeling though. It felt like liquid had just burst through my arm, but it tingled and sent waves through my arm adn it was really weird. But I'm okay...at least I hope I'm okay...I hope I don't die all of a sudden....ANYWAY--I mean, ANYHU...this chapter is short I think and kind of sad but it ties of the last of Frex and everything. And some people have been like: where's Nessa? So I put a chapter in for her)**

Everyone was outside celebrating, they decided to not go back to the palace tonight, and wait till tomorrow. They could all spend one more night on the campsite, and make sure that this last night there was a happy one. All of the soldiers and men were either drunk or getting drunk. Everyone was sore from smiling or fighting or hugging. It was an unforgettable night. Galinda kept glancing across the way at David who returned her subtle glances. Elphaba rolled her eyes and nudged Galinda.

"What?" asked Galinda in a trance.

"Go talk to him." Elphaba smiled.

"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly--" Galinda began.

"Go!" Elphaba laughed as she pushed her friend in David's direction. Galinda shot Elphaba a glare, but then giggled as she walked over to David. Elphaba watched them flirt with each other and she smiled at the couple. Fiyero was talking to some guy named Boq. Fredrick walked up to Elphaba.

"You haven't seen Nessa have you?" asked Fredrick, "I've been looking for her everywhere!"

"No, I haven't seen her." Elphaba said, "I'm sure she's somewhere around here." Fredrick nodded and continued his search. Elphaba thought for a moment as to where Nessa could have rolled off to. She suddenly had an idea. She subtly snuck away from the campsite into the forest. She saw the wheel tracks made from Nessa's wheelchair. She came to the clearing wear Frex and Morrible still lay dead and forgotten. Nessa sat there, a few yards away from her father's body, staring at him as tears rolled down her porcelain cheeks. Elphaba silently walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. Nessa jumped and looked up at Elphaba with her tearstained face.

"I really shouldn't be sad that he's gone." Nessa sniffled, looking back at Frex, "He was a horrible man."

"No, you have every right to be sad." Elphaba said, kneeling down next to Nessa, "He was your father, and he took care of you. He was good to you."

"But he was so horrible to you! How can I mourn his death?" asked Nessa.

"Would it help if I told you that I'm sad his gone too?" asked Elphaba. Nessa looked at her in shock.

"How can you mourn his death?! After everything he did to you?" asked Nessa incredulously.

"He was my father Nessie," Elphaba said, "Biological or not, he sheltered me and fed me and no matter how badly, he raised me. I have a right to mourn his death. Some might think it's twisted that I miss him." Elphaba stared at Frex's body, "Do you think it's twisted?" she asked Nessa, tears in her eyes.

"No, not at all." Nessa said quickly, shocked that her sister was actually crying.

"You know, right after Morrible performed that spell on me to make me blind, I started screaming and Frex was actually concerned about me. Crazy as it may sound. Maybe I was imagining things, but he came over to me and wrapped his arms around me and was genuinely concerned about me. It was the first time in my entire life that he actually…that he actually showed that he loved me." Elphaba said, her voice broken, "And I just realized that no matter what he did, he was still the man that raised me, my father, though he may not be anymore. And I just loved him unconditionally. And no matter how he tried to fool himself…he—he loved me too and he couldn't help it. He loved me, right?"

"Elphaba, of course he did." Nessa laid a hand on her sister's shoulder as Elphaba burst into tears. She cried into Nessa's shoulder and Nessa patted her back as they both cried.

"And—and the worst part is—is that I killed him!" Elphaba cried, "Oh please don't hate me Nessie, it was an accident, he was going to kill Fiyero and I panicked--"

"Shh Elphaba, nobody's mad at you, nobody blames you for what happened." said Nessa, "I still love you and father does too." she hugged Elphaba tightly.

"I'm sorry Nessie, I came here to comfort you and here you are comforting me!" Elphaba laughed weakly.

"No, It's fine Elphaba!" Nessa laughed, "It's time I took care of you anyway." They both laughed weakly and tearfully as they held onto one another. A comfortable, understanding silence washed over them and they both opted to staring at Frex's body. Finally, Nessa spoke.

"There—there's going to be a funeral for him, right?" asked Nessa, looking up at her sister.

"If you want." said Elphaba, "Even if only you and I attend, we can have a funeral."

"Thanks Elphaba." said Nessa.

"C'mon." said Elphaba, "We should get back, Fredrick's looking all over for you."

***********

When they got back to the campsite, they were greeted by a very, very worried Fredrick and Fiyero.

"We've been looking all over for you!" They both exclaimed, but then stopped as they saw the tears on both girl's faces. Fredrick and Nessa went off to be together, leaving Fiyero and Elphaba.

"What's wrong Fabala?" asked Fiyero, cupping her face and wiping a few tears away.

"My father just died Fiyero." said Elphaba. Fiyero looked confused for a moment, but then he seemed to understand.

"Oh." he said. He pulled Elphaba to him and wrapped his arms around her tightly and let her cry. She must be so overwhelmed with everything that had happened. He wasn't going to lie and say that he regretted Frex's death or in any mourned him, but he knew that Elphaba needed him right now and she needed him not to argue with her for say anything against Frex. He couldn't say he completely understood. He knew this was just something that only Nessa could understand completely.

"You'll come to the funeral, right?" asked Elphaba, her voice muffled against his chest.

"If you want me there."

"I do." she whispered.

"Then I'll be there." he said, but he felt like he needed to clarify that there was only one reason he would be there, "For you."

****************

The funeral had been small, and only three people had attended, Nessa, Elphaba and Fiyero. Nessa had told Fredrick not to come and Elphaba had told James and Galinda not to come. They had a unionist come and give a short sermon about Frex's life. The service was quick and small and that was all Nessa and Elphaba needed as closure if you will. Surprisingly, Elphaba didn't cry at the funeral, she'd done enough of that the night before. Nobody bothered to have a funeral for Morrible, she was buried carelessly where she'd fallen, no headstone and no mark to her memory.

"Are you still sad?" asked Fiyero as they walked back into the palace. The place had been cleaned up and was back to the homely palace Elphaba loved.

"I guess." said Elphaba, "More regretful than sad really…"

"Do you think you'll miss him?" asked Fiyero.

"No." said Elphaba, "Yes…maybe." she sighed, frustrated; sad.

"Would it be totally inappropriate of me to ask you out right now?" asked Fiyero, grinning at her.

"Fiyero!" Elphaba cried, "You mean, insensitive jerk!" there was a pause as Fiyero regretted his question. Elphaba sighed, "Ice cream?" Fiyero grinned.

"I already bought you the next book in the series." he grinned.


	41. Green Eggs and Ham

**(A/N: Hello! Thanks for reviewing if you did! I think the next chapter will be the last one...I'm not sure though. Either one or two chapter left though. Probably just one unless you guys want an epilogue in which I'll be glad to oblige. Oh, and I have a question for you all: how do you pronounce Fabala? I always thought it was like: Fa-bella even though it's not spelled like that. Some people pronounce it like: Fah-ball-a or Fay-bay-la...just a question...Like how some people say re-prize adn other's say re-preese for the word reprise...pronounciations always get me. Like when I went to China and all the Chinese people looked at me like I'd asked them to eat my foot! Though with my pronounciation, I might have actually said that...Oh well, I'm back in the fat old US now anyhu...I didn't meet my birth parents when I went to China...but I didn't want to anyway, you know how completey creepy that would be? They'd be like: "Hey it's the kid we abandoned!" and I'd be like: "Hey it's the parents who left me in an orphanage! But then I got adopted and moved to America!" It would not be pretty...ANYWAY! ON with thy story! Sorry sometimes I ramble:) Oh, and you might be rather confused if you haven't read: GREEN EGGS AND HAM by Dr. Seus...**

It had been 3 months since everything had gone from wonderful to terrible to horrible to wonderful all over again. But this wasn't going to be a cycle. This time wonderful would last longer. Wonderful would last. It would be wonderful. When Fiyero's parents went back to the Vinkus, Fiyero decided to go back for a while, having been away from his homeland. He brought Elphaba and Galinda with him. Well, missing his homeland wasn't the only reason he wanted to come back…but more of that later!

Nessa and Fredrick were doing well and Galinda and David had gotten together. They were a cute…annoying couple. Galinda was always pre-planning their outfits so that they wouldn't clash. In the beginning she tried to make David wear pink…but that didn't go over so well. The citizens of Oz were living life and drinking it up. James had reclaimed Oz and his title. A celebration throughout Oz was thrown, celebrating the victory and the deaths of Frexspar Thropp and Madame Morrible. Galinda had even writing a book...actually, she'd written two: "How to Be Popular" (it was currently being made into a motion picture) and "How to Tell if the Guy Who Claims He's Gay Is Actually Straight and Is Crushing On Your Best Friend Even Though He's Your Ex-Boyfriend and Your Best Friend Likes Him Too And She Just Can't Tell And You Are Secretly Trying to Set Them Up Together" (this was a huge bestseller and had been translated into 40 different languages).

"Elphie!" Galinda screamed, bouncing down the stairs, "Have you heard? Have you heard????!!!" Elphaba looked up from her book and covered her ears as Galinda came running into the library.

"What is it?" asked Elphaba.

"MY BOOK IS A BESTSELLER!" she screamed. Elphaba rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I've heard." Elphaba smiled, "Your demographic is actually very surprising. Old guys read that book…."  
"And—_and_ guess what else! Gay guys read it and I haven't gotten any hate mail from them!" she squealed.

"Why? Did you put offensive stuff in there?" asked Elphaba.

"No, just stereotypical stuff." Galinda shrugged, "Like how they all can quote Dr. Seus books and give each other the yawn and stretch every other minute."

"Well, congratulations." Elphaba smiled.

"Thank you!" Galinda hugged Elphaba. They both suddenly heard really loud yelling from the hall outside of the yelling. Elphaba and Galinda sighed. Fiyero and David were fighting again.

***********

"I DO NOT LIKE GREEN EGGS AND HAM!" David shouted.

"Would you like them in a boat? Would you like them with a goat?" asked Fiyero pleasantly.

"I WOULD NOT LIKE THEM IN A BOAT, I WOULD NOT LIKE THEM WITH A GOAT! I WOULD NOT LIKE THEM IN THE DARK, I WOULD NOT LIKE TO HEAR YOU FART! I WOULD NOT LIKE THEM WITH A MOUSE, I WOULD NOT LIKE THEM IN A HOUSE, I WOULD NOT LIKE THEM WITH A FOX, I WOULD NOT LIKE THEM IN A BOX, I WOULD NOT LIKE THEM HERE OR THERE, I WOULD NOT LIKE THEM **ANYWHERE**!" David shouted.

"You could've just said 'no.'" said Fiyero, rolling his eyes. David fumed.

"I DO NOT LIKE GREEN EGGS AND HAM!" he spluttered. Galinda and Elphaba both poked their heads out of the door to the library and looked at the two. Galinda rushed over to David's side and rubbed his back as his face lost its tomato look.

"Honey, honey, it's alright. What did I tell you about getting angry?" asked Galinda.

"It makes me look like I swallowed five airhead extremes." David sighed, "Yes I know."

"It just never gets old!" Fiyero laughed, "Someday he'll burst through the roof, I swear."

"Fiyero!" Elphaba scolded, "Must you be so mean to David?" Fiyero just kept laughing and Elphaba rolled her eyes and patted David comfortingly on the head as his face began to turn red again at Fiyero's laughter. Suddenly, Galinda was struck with some amazing idea. She stuck her light bulb worthy index finger in the air.

"OMIOZ! I've just had a piff knee!!" she squealed.

"Epiphany you mean?" asked Elphaba.

"No, it's called a piff-knee." said Galinda, "ANYHU, I just realized that according to theorem 157 in my book: How to Tell if the Guy Who Claims He's Gay Is Actually Straight and Is Crushing On Your Best Friend Even Though He's Your Ex-Boyfriend and Your Best Friend Likes Him Too And She Just Can't Tell And You Are Secretly Trying to Set Them Up Together, you guys are both gayer than hippos, kiwis, peaches, strawberry's, scarves, giraffes, zebra's, Old McDonald, Bob and Fred, analog clocks, broken elevators and crooked rulers! You're quoting Dr. Seus for OZ SAKES!" Galinda exclaimed.

"You have theorems in your book?" asked Elphaba, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. I made everything a theorem so people couldn't argue with me." said Galinda.

"You can't just make up theorems." said Elphaba.

"Hey! Don't argue the theorems!"

"But you made them up!"

"They're still theorems!"

*************

"—would you like them with a dog? Would you like them in the fog?" asked Fiyero as he and Elphaba walked along the beach hand in hand.

"I would not like them with a dog, I would not like them in the fog." Elphaba said.

"How 'bout with me then?" asked Fiyero breaking rhyme.

"I'd like anything with you." Elphaba smiled, "Because I love you."

"I love you too." Fiyero smiled. He was getting more nervous by the second. He had a question to ask her today and it was proving to be very difficult and nerve racking as he was waiting for the opportune moment. But how did he know when the hell that was? He was so nervous. He felt like she already knew and she was just making him squirm. He was jumpy and trying to make sure everything was going smoothly. He had taken her for ice cream first of course and then they'd stopped at the bookstore and he'd picked up a book for her. Now they were walking on the beach and nearing their rock. They sat down together on the rock and Fiyero showed her the book he picked up for her.

"A picture book?" asked Elphaba skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"Not just _any_ picture book." Fiyero said. Elphaba took the book and opened it to the middle of the book.

"Would you like them with a mouse? Would you like them in a house?" she read aloud, laughing at how childish she was feeling. Fiyero grinned. She turned a few pages.

"Would you could you in the rain? Would you could you in a train?" she read. Fiyero felt his nerves jumping, because he knew what was on the next page. She turned the page and she saw a ring resting in the book. A small bit of the book had been hollowed out, just big enough for the ring to sit in there. Elphaba gasped when she saw the ring. What did this mean? Had Fiyero picked up the wrong book? Was he serious? What was going on?! She looked up at Fiyero for the answers. He slowly took the ring and only then did she notice he had gotten down on one knee in front of her. Oh. My. Oz.

"Elphaba, I love you so much. I can't live without you, you're my air, my sky, my stars, my love and everything else. I want us to be together _always_. And even if you say no," he cracked a smiled, before continuing, "I will find a way to be with you anyways. Consider me your number one stalker if you say no." They both had tears in their eyes. Elphaba laughed shakily as she felt her breath leaving her and Fiyero was just using up his nerves. He breathed in to gain at least a little control over his shaking voice. As he spoke these next few words, he took her hand and gently slipping the ring onto her finger, "If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm asking you to marry me Elphaba. And for the full glory of the actual question that can make or break me: Will you marry me?" Elphaba was shocked. She didn't know what to say. 'Yes' seemed good but for some reason she couldn't get her vocal chords to work. She just stared at Fiyero as she felt the moisture in her eyes grow. Fiyero realized she was having a hard time and he tried to help her out.

"Elphaba, you're killing me." Fiyero chuckled, though he couldn't quite hide the anxiety in his voice, "Could you please answer the question?"

"Yes." Elphaba was finally able to say.

"Yes you'll answer the question or yes you'll marry me?" asked Fiyero, his heart thumping wildly in his chest.

"Yes I'll answer the question." said Elphaba.

"And your answer is….?" Fiyero prompted.


	42. The End

**(A/N: Alright you guys, this is the end. Even though some of you asked for an epilogue, I don't think I'll do one. I wouldn't want to mess anythign up. I mean, I might do one, but I sincerely doubtify it. So, enjoy this last chapter of this story. It has been amazing. Over 500 reviews! WOW! You guys have been great. It was kind of sad for me to end this, but when one drags something on, it looses its spark. So, here's it's ending. Now that this is finished, I'll have time to work on my other stories, but golly gee, this one has been my best. I'm working on another story already that I'm kind of into, and who knows, maybe it will be as big a hit as this one! It will be up on the site soon. So enjoy this last chapter of "He's A She?" thanks again!)**

**1 month later**

Elphaba was pacing inside the palace, wondering how she was ever going to get her nerves under control. She'd foolishly let Galinda pick out her dress. It was long and trailed behind her, as did the veil. As she paced, she'd tripped several times over the long dress. It was sleeveless and just off-white. Her hair had been left down, and curled softly. Soft black spirals fell down her back and complemented the white dress. She wrung her hands and twisted her fingers as she tried to calm her nerves. She was about to get married to the most amazing man in Oz and she didn't think she could do it. Were his intentions true? Did he _really_ love her? How could _she_ be getting married? She felt like she'd just been watching as her life became everything she never thought it could be. Who had she suddenly switched stories with? Whose wonderful fate had she stolen? Which fairytale had she fallen into? Which dream had she got caught in? Or more importantly…when was she going to wake up? Nothing is so good it lasts eternally. She suddenly remembered Fiyero was going to be King of the Vinkus someday…he couldn't marry her…could he? He needed someone who would be able to stay in the Vinkus with him! Didn't he? She had to stay in the Emerald City. Oz, what if they had children one day and they looked like…her? Green? Abnormal? She could never ruin someone's life like that. She could never do that to a child. She wouldn't be able to live with herself. Imagine what that would do to her! To Fiyero! Of course Fiyero would want to have children, he'd need them to sustain the Vinkus…but what if---if---…..if…and then…what then? So many 'ifs' were running through her mind, followed by 'what thens'. Galinda rushed in then.

"Elphie!" she squealed, "It's time for you to come on already! Everyone's waiting!" Elphaba stopped pacing and spun around to face Galinda.

"I can't."

*************

Fiyero stood at the altar, waiting for Elphaba to make her entrance. Their wedding was being held outside in the bright sunny courtyards. All of the leaves were golden green and the grass sparkled with the light from the sun. The flowers seemed to have volumized their rich bright colors for the special occasion. More than 300 people had attended. Elphaba had made some more friends in the 3 months since the war had ended and the few she made attended with their families. Fiyero's family was there. Galinda's family was there. Hmm…who else was there? Hmm…David was serving as his best man…Galinda was serving as Elphaba's maid of honor, Nessa was a bridesmaid…James was there…suddenly it dawned on him that as the music struck up…_Elphaba_ wasn't there. There was a muffled murmuring throughout the crowd as they all turned in their seat towards the doors from the palace. Fiyero began to panic. He looked to Galinda.

"I'll be back, she's probably just nervous…I'll convince her to come out." she said to him. She picked up her skirts and hurried down the aisle and disappeared into the palace. Fiyero sighed as Galinda's last words rang in his head. Elphaba shouldn't _need_ to be _convinced_ to marry him. She was supposed to _want_ to. Did she just realize what saying 'yes' garnered?

************

"What do you mean you can't?!" Galinda shrieked.

"I just _can't_!" Elphaba reasoned.

"What do you mean you can't?!" Galinda repeated, "You're going to break Fiyero's heart! He's going to _die_ if you don't marry him!"

"I'm doing him a favor, believe me!" Elphaba said. She kicked off her heels. Galinda shrieked as one of the heels broke. Elphaba started on her veil.

"NO!" Galinda shrieked, pulling Elphaba's hands down, "You're going to marry Fiyero and you're both going to be happy! What's gotten you? Why are you freaking out so much? What could go wrong?"

"Everything!" Elphaba said. She sat down in one of the chairs, her dress wrinkling. For once Galinda didn't say anything concerning the welfare of the dress.

"Elphie, what are you so worried about?" she asked quietly.

"This isn't my story Galinda." said Elphaba, "This isn't happening to me."

"But it is." Galinda smiled, "This must be overwhelming, all of this…this happiness so fast, but…it is happening and nothing bad is going to come of this. This is what you _want_. You said yes then, now all you have to do is say 'I do'."

*************

Fiyero stood there, every fiber in his body was panicking. Everyone was sending him sympathetic glances and checking the door to see if she was coming. He couldn't stand it anymore. How could he just stand there when his felt like the air was being sucked out of his lungs? He needed to go find his oxygen and life: Elphaba. He hurried down the aisle and vanished inside the palace. He went into Elphaba's room and saw her in there, sitting in a chair, Galinda's arm around her. He opened the door wider and they both looked up.

"Fiyero!" Elphaba said. Galinda kissed Elphaba's cheek and stood up.

"I'll see you out there in five minutes Elphie. And don't forget to walk slowly or you'll trip over your gown." she said and left. Elphaba didn't know why she was so sure that she _was_ going to be going out there. Fiyero stood in front of Elphaba, his heart felt like it was on the verge of breaking. She didn't look at him. He didn't know what to say. _She_ didn't know what to say.

"Do you not want to marry me?" Fiyero finally asked, his voice cracked and broke like the usual smooth flow of a stream being sliced by an intruding boulder. Elphaba looked up at him through her eyelashes.

"I want to marry you." she said, "But--"

"But what?" asked Fiyero, "Do you not love me?"

"No! I love you!" Elphaba said.

"Then what's the problem?" asked Fiyero, sitting down next to her.

"I'm not right for you." said Elphaba.

"What do you mean?" asked Fiyero, "When I got down on one knee and asked you to marry me I accepted you for all that you are. I made it clear then that you were my exact match, my one and only my _right, _my answer."

"Fiyero you need someone who can make you happy." Elphaba said.

"_You_ make me happy!" Fiyero said, frustrated. His frustration and stubbornness made Elphaba crack. All of her worries began spilling out of her like sand from a broken hour glass.

"What if we fall apart because you'll be in the Vinkus? What if we have children and they're green and their lives are horrible and all because you married _me_?! And then you hate me---" Elphaba was going into hysterics now.

"Elphaba, hush." said Fiyero soothing, putting his arms around her, "That's what you're worried about? Elphaba, if our children have green skin as beautiful as yours it will be a _blessing_. There's nothing wrong with your skin, it's beautiful and our children will be too, whether their skin is pink, blue, green, white, black, brown or any other color of the rainbow. We can have tie-dye colored children and I won't care. I will love them and I will always love _you_." he assured her. She quieted and he held her tighter, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Because none of it was real until _now_." Elphaba said, "Because this—this wedding just made everything so-- perfect--!"

"So _that's_ what you're worried about!" Fiyero said with realization, "You're not worried about me having to go to the Vinkus, or even our children having emerald skin. You're scared of being this happy. Elphaba, I know that growing up as you did, all of this happiness is coming at you really fast and it scares you--"

"I'm not--" Elphaba began but Fiyero stopped her.

"Yes you are. You're scared that once this last dream comes true, it will all crash down on you." said Fiyero.

"That's what Galinda said." said Elphaba.

"We both know you inside and out." said Fiyero, "Elphaba, I promise you that everything will be fine. We'll be fine. I will love you forever and always, in sickness and in health and whatever other shit we go through. I _love_ you."

"I love you too." said Elphaba, wiping away a tear and smiling weakly at him.

"Good." said Fiyero. He got down on one knee and Elphaba laughed. Fiyero grinned, "Ok, I'm going to do this all over again. Elphaba, will you please, pretty please with a green egg on top, marry me?" he gave her a winning smile, "And will you please answer the question?"

"Yes."

"Yes you'll answer the question or yes you'll marry me?"

"Yes I'll marry you." she said.

"Thank. Oz." he said, "To your credit I was about to have a heart attack." he picked her up and spun her around. She laughed and he bent to kiss her but she stopped him.

"Aren't you supposed to wait until we're official?" she asked.

"We couldn't _get_ more official." he kissed her anyways and she laughed. She pulled away and put her veil back on. Fiyero grinned and then pulled a serious face and then right there in the cluttered bride's room he announced the vows, "I, Fiyero Tiggular, take you, Elphaba Thropp, to be my wife, my partner in life (and crime) and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you. I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully, through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy. What may come I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold," Fiyero took her hand, "I give you my heart and life to keep." he pressed her other hand to his heart.

"And I, Elphaba Thropp, take you, Fiyero Tiggular, to be my husband, my partner in life and--"

"You forgot crime." Fiyero grinned. Elphaba laughed.

"--my partner in life _and_ crime and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today tomorrow and forever. I will trust you and honor you. I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully, through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy. What may come I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold, I give you my heart and life to keep."

"I'd kiss you, but you're veils in the way and we haven't been _officially_ pronounced, husband and wife." said Fiyero, "So we should probably get out there so I can kiss you already."

"Probably." she said, then she suddenly remembered she was barefooted. She went to put her shoes on, then remembered she'd broken the heel, "I kind of don't have any shoes…." he looked down at her broken heels. He laughed and took his shoes off.

"I don't have any either." he said, "It's our wedding and we'll wear shoes if we want to." Galinda poked her head in then.

"Um…are you guys coming?" she asked, "The guests are waiting."

"Yes, we're coming." said Elphaba. Galinda looked down at their feet and rolled her eyes.

"I knew you wouldn't wear the heels!"

***********

Galinda walked back to her spot next to Nessa and told the musicians to start the music. They looked confused but obliged. Everyone turned to see what would happen. The happy couple walked out, both smiling and barefoot. They held hands, rather than the formal way of Fiyero offering her his arm. They looked so young and in love. They were breaking tradition, so everyone else did too and cheered loudly and waved. The couple smiled and waved back. They got to the altar and everyone quieted down.

"Fiyero Tiggular, do you take Elphaba to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and--" the priest began. Fiyero stopped him.

"You can stop there, we already went over that." said Fiyero. He smiled and took both Elphaba's hands in either of his, "I do." he smiled at her.

"Do you, Elphaba Thropp, take Fiyero Tiggular to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the priest said, smiling at Elphaba. She looked at Fiyero and found tears in her eyes. She smiled.

"I do." she said quietly.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." the priest smiled, "You may now--"

Fiyero didn't wait for him to finish his sentence. He lifted Elphaba's veil gently and then pulled her to him and kissed her passionately. Her arms went around his neck and his circled her waist. The crowd cheered. They heard James' voice in the background.

"Don't you two _ever_ breathe?" he was asking. Elphaba and Fiyero pulled apart and laughed and then brushed each other's tears away at the same time.

***********

The reception was held outside as well. A dance floor had been put in for the night and the courtyard was decorated with twinkling lights. It was dark outside by now and everyone was dancing. They'd already had the wedding cake and Fiyero and Elphaba had already done the customary dances. Elphaba was able to dance with her father, something she thought was impossible till now. Galinda bounced over to the couple with David.

"Oh Elphie!" Galinda squealed, "I'm so happy for you and Fiyero!"

"Thanks Galinda." Elphaba laughed, "And thanks for planning this, it was really great."

"Yeah, even if you didn't wear the heels." said Galinda, "I can't wait to plan your baby shower." she laughed.

"Well that won't be happening ANY time soon." said James, walking up to them. He gave Elphaba a stern look, "Right?"

"Of course!" she and Fiyero said.

"Good, I'm too young to be a grandpa." James grumbled, but then smiled at the two, "Congratulations you two. Fiyero, you take good care of her or I will take over the Vinkus and tax your ass off."

"Don't worry sir, she's in good hands." Fiyero laughed.

"Oh!" Elphaba called a passing man over. He walked over, another man on his arm. Galinda giggled madly at the sight. Elphaba nudged her in the ribs, "Thanks again for being the priest Bob, it meant a lot to Fiyero and I."

"Yeah." agreed Fiyero, "And thanks for coming Fred." he said. The two men nodded and congratulated the couple before starting off. Galinda and David excused themselves to dance and James went off to speak to Fiyero's parents. Fiyero tugged on Elphaba's hand and he led her past the party to their hammock where you could see the stars peeking at them through leaves of the tree above them. They lay down together and held each other, looking up at the stars.

"How's this for an ending?" asked Fiyero.

"Well, you know what they say about endings." said Elphaba, kissing him gently.

"What?"

"Every ending is only a beginning." she said, "Are you ready for the sequel?"

"As long as you're in it." he said, "And as long as Galinda doesn't write it."

"HEY! I HEARD THAT!"

Fiyero and Elphaba both laughed and then shared a sweet kiss.

"Don't worry." said Elphaba, "I'll write it."

"_We'll_ write it." Fiyero corrected her.

"Fine, but don't forget to use spellcheck." said Elphaba.

"Hey!" said Fiyero. But he quickly forgot about it as he was suddenly caught in a passionate kiss.

"You really want to do this in a hammock? Right now?" asked Fiyero against her lips.

"It's our wedding night, isn't it?"

**THE END**

**Special thanks to**: the 56 of you that favorited and the 80 of you that story alerted.

Thanks everyone. I'm really going to miss this fic. You've all been awesome!

**Alexi95 Alice Inn is 'Not That Girl' Amythista AquaFlameElementalist Arya 4 ever. awesomepwincess123 beautifulillusion89 Beautifully Tragic Ozian BensonRox1147 BlackButterflyPrincess04-06-2009BroadwayObsessedGirl5403-06-2009c-melle03-16-2009C.C. Grant06-09-2009Commoner's Coffee06-16-2009Devious little girl03-18-2009dg4g04-29-2009DrEamInEveRyTime9606-20-2009Elphaba1fan08-11-2009.06-04-2009eponine00503-05-2009Faeyero Potter08-11-2009FaeYero With A Ga03-08-2009FaeYero4ever06-03-2009Fiyero's Girl-Elphaba01-03-2009GreenBabiesRule02-05-2009greengirl1606-17-2009Happy Fae04-08-2009hollowbastiongrl03-09-2009Ilzzell05-18-2009Jenniedvm04-11-2009JesseMac Girl the Flinda Freak01-18-2009Junora04-19-2009kakaray1102-21-2009Kirei Yuki Tenshi05-06-2009lizziemagic07-27-2009me is bored03-21-2009memapizza05-14-2009molliemae04-20-2009MorsDelecti08-07-2009obsessive-elphaba07-31-2009one heart that stands alone12-10-2008Painter'sTape04-09-2009Pernicia03-11-2009populardarling04-09-2009rainbowstripeblonde04-09-2009Redheaded Witch07-18-2009starwarsangel03-13-2009swirlygirl1205-31-2009Tanthalas Cullen07-16-2009theatrchy200405-13-2009TheThroppSistersandCompany12-04-2008TillITryIllNeverKnow12-01-2008ToThoseWhoGroundMe03-08-2009tricksterslioness04-30-2009VampireatHeart04-17-2009witch-of-the-west9482**


	43. Epilogue

**(A/N: hello all! After must speculation... innuendo, outuendo...I have decided to do an epilogue...please enjoyify it)**

It had been about 5 months since their wedding and everyone was living in complete bliss. Nessa had married Frederick at only 15 years old and Elphaba had lectured her on the seriousness of marriage. Until of course, Nessa got sick of it and pointed out that Elphaba had gotten married as well at only 16 in which case Elphaba went on to lecture her about how _her _marriage was _different. _Nessa and Frederick moved back to Munchkinland and Frederick's family took up the Eminence and his father became the elected Governor of Munchkinland. Now that the war was over and everything was returning back to normal, Elphaba had suddenly remembered her education. Funny of her to forget it in the first place. She, Fiyero and Galinda all got together one day and wrote their entrance essays. Elphaba asked Nessa to consider Shiz, but she was quite busy in Munchkinland. So it was about a month after that when the palace was filled with Galinda-like bursts of excitement, however this time, Galinda was not the one bouncing off the walls.

Elphaba burst into the library, a bright smiling lighting up her face as she gasped for breath.

"Fiyero! Father!" she yelled. Fiyero and James looked up from their reading and looked at Elphaba, raising their eyebrow simultaneously. If there was such a contest as simultaneous eyebrow-raising, they would definitely win.

"Elphaba, I don't know if you've been in a library before, but usually it is a _quiet_ environment." James said, trying to sound stern, but his smiling eyes gave him away. Fiyero started laughing then and James as well. Elphaba rushed forward, the mail clutched in her hand.

"Do you know what this is?!" she asked excitedly.

"It's the mail darling." Fiyero laughed. Elphaba rolled her eyes.

"Not just _any _mail, _darling_," she mocked him. She showed him the Shiz crests on the back of the envelopes; "Yero, we got into Shiz University!" she let out a very Galinda-ish squeal. Galinda burst into the library then.

"Oh my Oz, I heard one of my signature squeals, what's the news?!" she asked, rushing over to Elphaba, James and Fiyero.

"Yero and I got into Shiz!" Elphaba exclaimed happily, resisting the urge to jump up and down. Galinda squealed loudly, she'd gotten her acceptance letter a week prior while she was at her home in the Gillikin.

"How did you know _I _got into Shiz?" asked Fiyero, smiling.

"Because I opened your letter stupid!" Elphaba said, waving him off. She jumped in the air and settled herself on Fiyero's lap, "Yero, we got in, we got in, we got in!"

"So I've heard." Fiyero grinned, wrapping an arm around her.

"How can you be so nonchalant about this?! You should be--" Elphaba began.

"Squealing?" Fiyero supplied.

"Yes!"

"Sweetheart, I'm not gay." said Fiyero.

"But you _used _to be!" Elphaba giggled.

"Hey, we've been over that. It was _acting_ and I was only trying to protect a certain princess I know." Fiyero muttered.

"Oh you're so cute!" Elphaba poked his nose.

"Elphaba, I'm fairly freaked out now. If just being _accepted _to Shiz makes you act like a Galinda on helium, what in Oz will happen when we actually _get _to Shiz?" asked Fiyero.

"Oh stop acting like you're not excited--"

"I am excited--"

"You're just mad because I opened your letter and you didn't get to open it yourself--"

"Elphaba--"

"And if you're not going to celebrate with me, I'll just go celebrate with someone else and--"

"Elphaba--!"

"And then maybe whoever I choose to celebrate will actually be happy for me--"

"I am happy for y--"

"And then that person and I will go eat a cake or partake in some other activity that symbolizes celebration--" Fiyero rolled his eyes as she rambled on, "And then I think we'll just eat some ice cream in your face and make fun of you because you couldn't have any ice cream…and then we'll go to the beach and read a book together and then we'll come back to the palace and make fun of you because you weren't celebrating with us and then you'll be all whiny and make your dopey little sad face and be like 'why didn't you guys invite me?' and we'll be like 'because you were being all nonchalant about--" Fiyero silenced her as he captured her in a kiss. Elphaba kissed him back lovingly. She seemed to really be enjoying it until she pulled away abruptly.

"YERO! I wasn't _finished_!"

"Well, I wasn't finished either." Fiyero grinned and started kissing her again.

"You're so rude." Elphaba murmured against his lips.

"I'm just celebrating." Fiyero muttered back as he pulled her closer.

"Ahem." James and Galinda said simultaneously. There was no response to their ahem, so they ahemed again, "AHEM!" still no response, "Ahem, cough, sneeze, cough, hiccup, cough some more, ahem ahem AHEM!" Without breaking contact, Fiyero picked Elphaba up and carried her out of the library, heading upstairs. James gave them an incredulous look as they left. Then he turned to Galinda.

"She does know I'm her father doesn't she?" asked James, "And she does know that I just saw _all _of that."

"Sir, I think it's best if you just leave them to their 'celebrating'." Galinda patted his shoulder before darting out of the library. James plopped down in his seat.

"Hmph." he grumbled, "Teens. Why can't they just celebrate like us adults and play a game of bingo, eat ice cream simultaneously and then sleep it off?" James then proceeded to exit library and entering the kitchen as he announced loudly, "Can someone get me some ice cream and my bingo set? I'm in a celebratory mood." he heard laughter and other various noises from upstairs, "And apparently so is my daughter and son in law."

**(A/N 2: In case you were wondering...this will ultimately lead to a sequel to "He's a She"...if you'd like anyway.)**


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